Written Answers Nos 200-217
200. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if employees from a State agency can apply for promotion or transfer to another State agency, outside of their current position, in another area or county; and if a transfer list exists in each agency. [35573/14]
View answerThe Public Service Agreements covering the period 2010-16 (the Croke Park and Haddington Road Agreements) provide for agreed redeployment arrangements to apply in the Civil Service and in other parts of the Public Service. Under these Agreements, redeployment generally takes precedence over all other methods of filling a vacancy. It facilitates the movement of staff both within and across sectors as a result of the rationalisation, reconfiguration or restructuring of public service bodies or where activities have assumed lesser priority arising from changing business needs and where such reorganisations have given rise to a surplus. A "Redeployment Toolkit" setting out the background and the detailed processes involved has been agreed with the staff unions and is available at http://hr.per.gov.ie/redeployment/.
The agreed arrangements for the redeployment of staff within the Health, Education, and Local Government sectors are managed directly by those sectors.
Redeployment for the Civil Service and Non Commercial Semi-State Bodies operates through a system of Resource Panels, operated by the Public Appointments Service, which also arranges for cross-sectoral assignments to be made, where necessary. This is facilitated by the recently enacted Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Act 2013, which removes the legislative barriers to mobility and redeployment across the various sectors in the Public Service and addresses other issues that arise on changing employer.
Individual Departments with regionalised structures have agreed arrangements in place for the transfer of staff. There are no centralised arrangements in place within the Civil Service to facilitate requests for transfers to other locations or Civil Service employments, except in the case of grades represented by the Civil & Public Services Union. Transfers for these grades (mostly Clerical and Staff Officers) are arranged in accordance with formal procedures agreed with the Staff Side at General Council under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for the Civil Service.
From time to time, transfers between other grades in the Civil Service are arranged on an informal, head-to-head, basis. Such transfers are arranged between the officers seeking to move and the relevant Personnel Units and require the agreement of both Personnel Officers.
The transfer of staff within the Health, Education, and Local Government sectors is a matter for the Minister with responsibility for the sector involved.
There are no centralised arrangements allowing for the transfer of staff from one public service agency to another other than those arising under redeployment arrangements described above.
In general, the arrangements applying to promotion opportunities in the public service mean that such opportunities are normally confined to those already serving within a particular organisation and are not usually available on a cross-sectoral basis.
201. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details regarding contractors' services to Leinster House. [35621/14]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is currently being collated. A detailed response will issue as soon as possible.
202. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in a tabular form, the annual allocated capital expenditure spend for the years 2008 to 2014, inclusive, and the accompanying percentage increase or decrease of this spend in comparison with the previous year. [35818/14]
View answerThe following table outlines gross capital expenditure for the period to which the Deputy refers. Figures up to 2012 represent the actual outturn which includes capital carryover spent in the year.
The 2013 figure is the provisional outturn and does not include carryover spend. The figure for 2014 represents the allocation as per the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2014 and does not include the May 2014 stimulus announcement of an additional €200m in capital exenditure. The table also shows the percentage increase/decrease for each year in comparison to the previous year.
The details on expenditure, along with a breakdown by Department, can also be found on the databank website hosted by my Department, http://databank.per.gov.ie/.
It is important to note that in the ten year period preceding the 2011 capital review, many of the economy's key infrastructural deficits were addressed through a large capital investment of over €60 billion in Exchequer capital expenditure. This investment peaked at €9 billion in 2008. In recent years, however, it has been necessary to prioritise public spending and scale back the public capital programme in order to help bring the public finances under control. While the capital budget made a large contribution to the consolidation effort there were, of course, reductions to current budgets also in both pay and programme expenditure.
Gross Capital Expenditure Trend 2008 - 2014
|
Year |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Capital Spend |
9,011 |
7,333 |
6,385 |
4,515 |
3,809 |
3,287 |
3,339 |
|
% Change year on year |
-19% |
-13% |
-29% |
-16% |
-14% |
2% |
203. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has advised individual Departments of the spending adjustments that will apply in 2015. [35893/14]
View answerThe Government is firmly committed to bringing the General Government Deficit below 3% of GDP by end 2015, and achieving this objective remains the primary fiscal objective of Budget 2015.
As the Deputy will be aware, there have been several welcome developments in the economy recently, with the labour market enjoying a sustained recovery and economic growth now higher than previously projected, with a positive impact on tax receipts. As a result, we expect that our Budget 2015 objective of bringing the Deficit below 3% can now be achieved with a lower quantum of fiscal adjustment than the €2bn previously estimated. Of course, downside risks to the public finances remain, the level of public debt is very high, and the ongoing Exchequer borrowing requirement to fund day-to-day public expenditure is unsustainable over the longer term.
As part of the ongoing Comprehensive Review of Expenditure due to be published on Budget day, all Government Departments have been asked to review their spending and to identify measures that will support achieving our fiscal objective. The CRE is framed in the context of the 2015 expenditure ceilings that were published in Expenditure Report 2014. Within this context, the recent welcome developments on the fiscal front will allow the Government some space to make decisions to address certain pressures and priorities. Final decisions in relation to the Budget will reflect updated information on key economic indicators and receipts from taxation.
204. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of appeals for exemption from the one person one salary directive; the number that his Department has approved. [35895/14]
View answerTo date my Department has received three appeals for exemption from the requirements of the One Person One Salary policy and it is the position that none of these appeals have been acceded to.
205. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the comprehensive review of expenditure will be published. [35896/14]
View answerThe outcome of the comprehensive review of expenditure will be presented in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017, which will be published on 14th October 2014.
206. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the remuneration package for each chief executive officer of State or semi-State organisations under the aegis of his Department; the changes made to such remuneration in the past two years; the remuneration package for each acting CEO if such exists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35952/14]
View answerIn response to the Deputy's questions the following is the position with regard to the remuneration package for each Chief Executive Officer of State or semi-State organisations under the aegis of my Department:
Valuation Office
The Remuneration package for the Commissioner of Valuation (CEO of the Valuation Office) is at Assistant Secretary level and is currently equivalent to the third point on that scale, i.e., €124,072. In his capacity as CEO Designate appointed to oversee the merger of the Valuation Office with Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Property Registration Authority, an additional allowance of €8,303 per annum applies.
Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)
The salary scale for the CEO of SEUPB is a four point scale ranging from €76,521.25 to €105,787.50. There have been no changes to the remuneration in the past 2 years.
Institute of Public Administration (IPA)
The current pay of the Director General of the IPA is €175, 407. A reduction of 7.2% applied in 2013 in accordance with Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013.
Office of the Ombudsman
The Director General is the Accounting Officer in the Office of the Ombudsman. The salary scale for this position with effect from 1st January 2010 was:
Salary Scale: €127,796 - €133,605 - €139,898 - €146,191
The salary scale for this position was reduced under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement and is as follows:
Salary Scale: €119,572 - €124,917 - €130,706 - €136,496.
The Director General is currently on the second point of the reduced scale and is subject to a 3 year increment freeze.
State Labroatory
The State Chemist is the Accounting Officer in the State Laboratory. The salary scale for this position with effect from 1st January 2010 was:
Salary Scale: €105,691 - €108,101 - €110,539 - €112,291 - €115,817 - €119,405
The salary scale for this position was reduced under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement and is as follows:
Salary Scale: €99,236 - €101,453 - €103,696 - €105,308 - €108,552 - €111,853.
The State Chemist is currently on the first point of the reduced scale and is subject to a 3 year increment freeze.
Public Appointments Service
The CEO of the Public Appointments Service is a Civil Service Assistant Secretary level post. The current annual remuneration for the CEO of the Public Appointments Service is €124,917. This rate of pay is effective since 1st July 2013 when the pay rates were reduced under the Haddington Road Agreement.
207. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason €45 million in promised Government funding for flood and storm prevention works remains unspent six months since the last of winter storms; if he will provide the Government's plans for the spend of the remaining €45 million; if he will consider diverting some of this €45 million to other worthy projects that have not received an allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35957/14]
View answer208. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied with the Government's efforts to fulfil the EU Directive on the assessment and management of flood risks; if he will provide an update on the progress made in this area. [35963/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together.
On 11 February 2014 the Government decided to allocate total funding of €69.5 million for repair of public infrastructure damaged by storms in the period 13 December, 2013 to 6 January, 2014. Of this total amount, the OPW is responsible only for the approval of programmes of works and the disbursement to local authorities of the funding of up to €19.6 million for repair of damage to public coastal protection infrastructure. The Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Transport, Tourism and Sport and Agriculture, Food and the Marine are responsible for the approval of programmes of work and the disbursement of funding for repair of other damaged public infrastructure such as roads, piers, harbours and other community facilities and amenities.
With regard to the funding of €19.6 million that is available from the OPW, the local authorities have indicated that works are in hand at many of the locations involved and that a substantial proportion of the expenditure incurred will be drawn down by them before the end of this year.
In relation to your question on the Government's efforts to fulfil the EU Directive on the assessment and management of flood risk, the implementation of the EU Directive is being undertaken through the national Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. Good progress is being made on the six regional CFRAM Studies under the national Programme. The Programme is being undertaken by the OPW to meet national flood policy needs in addition to meeting the requirements of the EU Floods Directive. It involves a comprehensive flood risk assessment focused on 300 areas of potentially significant flood risk and the development of long-term, sustainable flood risk management plans.
The purpose of the CFRAM Programme is to:
- assess and map the existing and potential significant flood hazard and risk within the study areas,
- build the strategic information base necessary for making informed decisions in relation to managing flood risk,
- identify viable structural and non-structural measures and options for managing the flood risks for localised high-risk areas and within each river catchment as a whole.
There are three main stages in the Programme; each involving public consultation:
- Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment - complete
- Flood Hazard Mapping (2013 - 2014)
- Catchment Flood Risk Management Plans (2015)
The CFRAM Programme will be used to determine national priorities for State investment in flood defences, on a systematic and objective basis, using Multi-Criteria Analysis. More information on the Programme is available on www.cfram.ie.
209. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions he has taken to determine the balance of expenditure between basic research and applied research in each of the research funding agencies; the information which has emerged from this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35498/14]
View answerForfás undertook an analysis of the research and development spending by Government Departments and funding agencies in 2010 and categorised that spending into both basic and applied research. The report entitled “Categorisation of State Expenditure on R&D” was published in November 2010 (see http://www.forfas.ie/publication/search.jsp?ft=/publications/2010/Title,6985,en.php) and presents an analysis of the proportion of State funding on research and development that is allocated to basic and applied research.
The data presented is based on an approach which considered the classification of funding, according to research type, by the funders of research and development, i.e. Government departments and their associated funding and research performing agencies. In summary, it was found that State funding for basic research lies in the range of 37% - 49% and applied research in the range 51% - 63%. State funding for basic research within the Higher Education Institutions lies in the range 50% - 68% and for applied research in the range 32% - 50%. The majority of State funded research takes place in Ireland within the Higher Education Institutions. The OECD country mean for State funding of basic research in HEIs was found to lie in the range reported here, at 55 %.
Since then a number of developments are occurring within the public research policy system, including the extension of the legal remit of Science Foundation Ireland to fund applied research; the development and implementation of our National Research Prioritisation Exercise; the work by the Advisory Council for Science Technology and Innovation on the overall state funded research centre landscape; and the current work within my Department on the market focussed element of the research centre landscape.
Science Foundation Ireland has been successfully supporting research teams carrying out oriented basic research in Higher Education Institutions, but this research is typically at an earlier stage than applied research which would involve companies carrying out research necessary to bring products or services to market. The extension of Science Foundation Ireland’s legal remit will provide better support to enable ideas generated by Irish research groups to be further developed and commercialised.
The recognition that a country of Ireland’s size can only excel in a limited number of fields of research was also recognised and the Report of the Research Prioritisation Steering Group, formally adopted by Government in 2012, aims to accelerate the delivery of economic outcomes from Government investment in public research organisations by aligning future public investment by research funders to 14 opportunity areas.
The report from the Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation (see http://www.forfas.ie/publication/search.jsp?ft=/publications/2012/Title,9388,en.php ) identified an absence of research centres at the applied end of the research spectrum, and recommended that a Research Technology Organisation (RTO) type model should be introduced in Ireland and outlined the rationale and options for its establishment. (The European Association of RTOs defines RTOs broadly as organisations “which as their predominant activity provide R&D, technology and innovation services to enterprises, Governments and other clients”). This approach was endorsed by the OECD in their 2013 Economic Review of Ireland.
Building on this, my Department is currently undertaking a study aimed at strengthening the market-focussed element of the research centre landscape as committed in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014.
The first phase of this study is establishing the extent to which the expansion of SFI’s remit, the new Research Centre and Spokes Programmes with increased industry contribution requirements and the evolving EI/IDA Technology Centre Programme are increasing applied research activity and determining the profile of the research expenditure across the technology readiness level, TRL, scale. Based on this analysis, recommendations will be made on approaches to strengthen the market-focussed research centre landscape to ensure an appropriate research profile between basic research and applied research in Ireland.
210. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in view of the fact that there are over 275,000 persons employed by the Irish retail industry, making it Ireland's largest private sector employer; his views on the appointment of a junior Minister with specific responsibility for the retail industry. [35803/14]
View answerSince it came into office, the Government has recognised the importance to the economy of the retail sector. The sector accounts for approximately 10% of GDP (approx. €16bn) and, together with the wholesale sector, employs almost 270,000 people throughout the country in every community of Ireland.
The Government’s Statement of Priorities to 2016, which was announced by the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste in July, places a particular focus on supporting jobs in the domestic economy, including the retail sector. This commitment builds on this year’s Action Plan for Jobs which includes a number of measures to support retail. These measures include the establishment of a Retail Consultation Forum to provide a platform for a structured engagement between the Retail sector and relevant Government Departments and agencies. The purpose of the Forum is to allow key issues of relevance to the retail sector to be discussed, with a view to identifying practical actions which could be taken by Government, or by industry itself, to support the sector.
The Retail Consultation Forum was established in June and is chaired by the Minister of State for Business and Employment at my Department, Ged Nash T.D. As a “Super Junior” Minister, Minister Nash attends Cabinet meetings and is therefore in a position to provide a direct link between the issues raised at the Retail Forum and Government.
The Forum has held two meetings to date and has discussed items for consideration in the context of Budget 2015 which might assist the recovery of the sector, as well as potential actions for inclusion in the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs.
Aside from the work of the Retail Forum, we will continue to implement other measures in the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs to support the retail sector, including the Trading On-Line voucher scheme and the development of an Integrated Licensing Application System for the Retail sector.
211. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding non-compliant companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35308/14]
View answerThe Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 provides that the functions of the Director of Corporate Enforcement include enforcing and encouraging compliance with the Companies Acts and exercising a supervisory role over the activities of liquidators.
In the case of an insolvent liquidation, the liquidator of the company has a duty to investigate the company’s affairs and, under section 56 of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001, a duty to submit a report to the Director of Corporate Enforcement. This report must include information on the conduct of any person who was a director of the company during the 12 months preceding its liquidation. Additionally the liquidator must proceed to apply to the High Court for the restriction of each of the directors of the insolvent company, unless relieved of that obligation by the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
A restriction declaration, if made, prohibits an individual from acting, either directly or indirectly, as an officer of a company or from being involved in its formation or promotion for five years, unless the company is adequately capitalised. In the case of a private company, the capital requirement is €63,487 in allotted paid-up share capital. The equivalent figure for public companies is €317,435.
In general, a company is considered to be a separate legal entity from its owners and managers under company law. Therefore, unless a person has been disqualified, pursuant to section 160 of the Companies Act 1990, or restricted, pursuant to section 150 of the Companies Act 1990, that person may become a director of a company, irrespective of whether another company of which he or she is a director is in liquidation.
If the Deputy wishes to make available information that suggests circumstances of possible wrongful behaviour relating to companies or company directors he should contact the ODCE at 16 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 or alternatively at www.odce.ie. As the Director of Corporate Enforcement is a statutory independent officer it is not possible for me to intervene in any action or decision taken by the Director in relation to his statutory functions.
212. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the mandate and priorities of the low pay commission; when this body will be established. [35552/14]
View answer213. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the low pay commission will address zero hour contracts. [35553/14]
View answer214. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the low pay commission will examine the introduction of a living wage here. [35554/14]
View answer216. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the status of the low pay commission; when it will be officially established and operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35837/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 212 to 214, inclusive, and 216 together.
There is a commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014 to establish a Low Pay Commission (LPC) on a statutory basis as an independent body to make annual recommendations to the Government about the appropriate level of the minimum wage and related matters.
The Minister for Business and Employment is currently developing proposals to implement that commitment.
Issues being developed to this end include
- the detailed role and mandate of the LPC
- its size and composition
- resourcing requirements and
- legislative changes to National Minimum Wage Act 2000.
In addition to establishing the LPC on a statutory basis and progressing the legislative process, consideration is being given to establishing the LPC on an interim administrative basis to ensure that the Commission is in a position to carry out its functions as early as possible.
215. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress of the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership; his views regarding concerns expressed about the possible undue influence which could be exercised by multinationals; if he will support the current proposals. [35623/14]
View answerSince the formal negotiations between the European Union and the United States on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began in July 2013, six negotiating rounds have taken place. The most recent of these took place from 14-18 July in Brussels where all pillars and chapters of the TTIP were discussed. During that round, close to 25 different negotiating areas were covered, with the exception of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and investment protection, tariffs and financial services. A report on the outcome of the 6th round and further background documents is available on the European Commission’s TTIP website.
[http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/]
The 7th round of the TTIP negotiations is scheduled to take place in the US from 29 September to 3 October. This will be the last round before the current European Commission ends its term on 30 October and the US midterm elections, scheduled for 4 November, take place. It is expected that the 8th round of the negotiations will be held in December, with dates yet to be confirmed.
The European Commission has in place, an extensive framework for stakeholder consultation, which ensures that all interests have the possibility to have their view heard. Stakeholder consultation includes the recent the internet-based consultation on ISDS, stakeholders’ presentations, briefings and debriefings during each negotiating round, and an Advisory Group of experts including environmental, health, consumer and worker interests as well as business interests.
217. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the remuneration package for each chief executive officer of State or semi-State organisations under the aegis of his Department; the changes made to such remuneration in the past two years; the remuneration package for each acting CEO if such exists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35950/14]
View answerThe table that follows shows the annual remuneration for the CEOs of the State-Sponsored Bodies under my Department’s remit:
|
Non-Commercial State-Sponsored Body |
CEO Salary |
|
Health & Safety Authority |
€143,535 |
|
Personal Injuries Assessment Board |
€173,310* |
|
National Consumer Agency) Previous incumbent ( Deputy Secretary Level) |
€137,554 €169,415 |
|
Science Foundation Ireland |
€175,554 |
|
IDA Ireland Previous incumbent |
€168,210** €175,554 |
|
InterTrade Ireland |
stg£84,630*** |
|
Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority |
€114,843 |
|
Enterprise Ireland Previous incumbent |
€168,210** €175,554 |
|
National Standards Authority Ireland |
€143,807 |
|
Shannon Development The CEO of Shannon Airport Authority is currently fulfilling the duties of CEO of Shannon Development so there is currently no CEO salary being paid by Shannon Development |
Nil |
|
Competition Authority The Head of the Competition Authority is titled Chairman rather than CEO as is the case for the Department’s other Non-Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies. |
€164,388 |
|
Labour Relations Commission |
€156,380 |
The remuneration of all CEO’s of the State Bodies under the aegis of my Department has been subject to the reduction under the Haddington Road Agreement.
* Inclusive of a €11,000 car allowance. PIAB – or injuriesboard.ie - operates to a “self-funding” model
** In addition the CEO has the use of a company car
*** InterTradeIreland is based in Newry, Co Down - its operating currency is sterling
