Written Answers Nos. 90 - 99
90. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason the lease in respect of a property (details supplied) in County Clare was not renewed by the State, in particular whether it was the decision of the lessor or lessee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6441/15]
View answerThe Commissioners of Public Works confirm that the lease on Lissycasey Garda Station has expired.
The Garda Station at Lissycasey, due to the current condition of the property, is in need of extensive refurbishment and requires considerable investment in order to meet modern regulatory requirements and to bring the property to a standard acceptable for use as a public building.
An Garda Síochána were consulted and agreed to the closure of this facility.
91. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if funding will be made available to Louth County Council to alleviate flooding in Dunleer, County Louth which arose because the Whiteriver burst its banks in November 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6459/15]
View answerThe river in question does not form part of any drainage scheme for which the Office of Public Works has maintenance responsibility.
Local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for Local Authorities to investigate and address and Louth County Council may carry out flood mitigation and coastal protection works using its own resources.
The Office of Public Works operates a Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. This administrative Scheme's eligibility criteria, including a requirement that any measures are cost beneficial are published on the OPW website, www.opw.ie. It is not available for repair of damaged infrastructure or for maintenance of existing flood defence or coastal protection assets. A Local Authority may apply to the OPW for support under the scheme having regard to those eligibility criteria. Application forms are available on OPW's website under Flood Risk Management and decisions are made having regard to the overall availability of funding for flood risk management.
92. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to reduce costs in Government Departments for management consultants fees, accountant fees and legal advice fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6389/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has been established to centralise the procurement of common goods and services across the public sector. This move is in line with best practice in the public and private sector and is part of the continuing reform programme being driven by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The reform of the public service procurement functions will deliver sustainable savings for the tax payer.
The OGP is increasingly taking responsibility for the procurement of Professional Services. Professional Services encompasses four primary categories namely
- Legal & Insurance
- Consulting & Advisory
- Banking & Finance
- Construction & Engineering
In terms of reducing costs associated with management consultants fees, accountant fees and legal advice fees, the OGP intends putting in place National Frameworks for the following during 2015:
1. Financial & Economic Consultancy Services (Accountancy, Audit, Tax, Economic Appraisal etc)
2. Solicitors Legal Services (Local Government)
3. Solicitors Legal Services (ETB's)
4. Advisory & Consulting Services Tranche 1 (Business Strategy, Operations Management, Policy, Research & Development)
5. Solicitors Legal Services for Whole of Government
6. Advisory & Consulting Services Tranche 2 (Human Resources, Project & Change Management, Risk)
Where appropriate, these frameworks will be underpinned by the following;
- Improved operational efficiencies and reduced costs;
- Discipline, continuity and consistency to the provision of professional services;
- Establishment of a supply base with broad service coverage and improved service quality;
A framework structure which has the potential to impact positively on the Irish economy and society.
These frameworks will provide an opportunity for public service bodies to leverage the full buying power of the State in delivering value for money, reduce risk through standardised terms and conditions, and reduce their own administration costs. My Department has issued guidance to public bodies through Circular 16/13 reminding them of the value for money to achieved for the taxpayer through centralised contracts and frameworks and that their use is government policy.
93. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider flying the Amber Flag from his Department buildings, on a chosen day, in order to raise awareness of the Amber Flag programme, which works to raise awareness of mental health issues within second level schools, sports clubs and youth organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6435/15]
View answerIn response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that no flags are flown from any of my Department's buildings. As a result of this, even though the Amber Flag Programme is a very worthwhile cause, it is not possible for me to accede to the Deputy's request.
94. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if payments out of the Local Government Fund are included in the expenditure ceiling published in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015 - 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6450/15]
View answerThe multi-annual current expenditure ceilings for the Environment, Community and Local Government Vote published in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017 are ceilings on gross voted expenditure within which the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government must deliver its services. The ceilings for the Environment, Community and Local Government Vote do not include payments out of the Local Government Fund.
As indicated in my Department's Comprehensive Expenditure Review Report 2015-2017, the breakdown of the overall expenditure ceilings was informed by the comprehensive review process which allowed the Government to consider and set expenditure priorities for the period 2015 to 2017. The final determination of the 2016 and 2017 ceilings will be made by Government in line with the fiscal rules under the Stability and Growth Pact with specific reference to the Expenditure Benchmark.
The Local Government Fund was established by the Local Government Act 1998 which provided for the payment of Motor Tax into the Local Government Fund. All payments into and from the fund are provided for in the Local Government Act 1998, as amended. In addition to motor tax in 2015, Section 157 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides for the other main payment into the fund, that is Local Property Tax (LPT). Payments from the fund in 2015 include an LPT allocation to individual local authorities (replacing the general purpose payment to them), Roads and Public Transport Payments via the Transport, Tourism and Sport Vote, a Payment to the Exchequer, a Subvention to Irish Water, Local Authority Rates Payments as a consequence of the exemption of Irish Water from rates and payment for other miscellaneous schemes.
Details of the Estimate of Income and Expenditure of the Local Government Fund are published each year in the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services.
95. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of all funds and accounts, from which payments will be made, that are not included in the expenditure ceilings published in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017; if he will provide the annual receipts and payments from these funds; if he will provide a breakdown of these amounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6463/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017 (CER) relates to all spending by Central Government which is voted upon annually by the Dáil, plus the expenditure of the Social Insurance Fund and the National Training Fund. This corresponds to the Ministerial Expenditure Ceilings as defined in the Ministers and Secretaries Amendment Act 2013. In 2015, this amounts to over €53 billion.
Non-voted expenditure of the Central Fund is not covered by the Ministerial Expenditure Ceilings. The Department of Finance publishes detailed annual accounts of the Central Fund each year, known as the Finance Accounts. These Accounts are prepared under Section 4 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 and contain detailed analysis and classification of receipts and issues of the Central Fund as well as details of the National Debt. They must be laid before Dáil Éireann and they are examined by the PAC. In addition, the Department of Finance publishes information in relation to Central Fund activity on a monthly basis in the Exchequer Statements.
Detailed information in relation to other funds and accounts, as sought by the Deputy, are published by the respective responsible Departments, Offices, and State Bodies and not by my Department. However, the Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services, published annually by my Department, includes summary information on the income and expenditures of the Social Insurance Fund, National Training Funds and the Local Government Fund, all of which are extra-budgetary funds. Summary information is also included for a range of non-commercial state agencies.
96. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 82 of 22 January 2015, when the proposed new interim national flood forecasting service will be established and operational; if additional resources and expertise in the combined disciplines of meteorology and hydrology have been sought from Government; the timeframe to have the interim service in place, prior to introducing a full service; when the next meeting of the Government task force on emergency planning, which will discuss this issue, will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6503/15]
View answerAs indicated in my reply of 22nd January, discussions are taking place between the various stakeholders on the proposed establishment of an interim National Flood Forecasting Service. The issues for discussion include how the resource requirements can be met, including the required resources and expertise in the disciplines of meteorology and hydrology.
It is not possible at this stage to state when the proposed service will be operational.
97. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 258 of 16 December 2014, if any provisions or exceptions will be provided to public service workers who were on long-term illness leave, more than a year prior to the new illness scheme being introduced, in view of the fact that the look-back period is four years, and as a result, these workers now have no entitlement to sickness allowance for the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6547/15]
View answerThe Public Service Sick Leave Scheme provides substantial additional protection to individuals experiencing critical illnesses or serious injury through the Critical Illness Protocol (CIP), which provides the basis for access to extended sick leave. Under the CIP, public servants who suffer from a critical illness or serious physical injury may have access to extended sick leave of 6 months on full pay in any 1 year period, followed by 6 months on half pay subject to a maximum of 12 months' paid sick leave in any 4 year period.
An illness or injury may be classified as critical depending on the severity of the illness or injury which is assessed against specific medical criteria that are set out in the Protocol. In addition, there is a provision within the Protocol which means that the extended sick pay under CIP can be granted to staff at the discretion of HR Managers, even in circumstances where the strict medical criteria are not met. The granting of extended sick pay under the discretionary provisions is dealt with on a case by case basis and is dependent on all the circumstances of the case.
While it is not possible to determine definitively whether a past illness meets the strict medical criteria set out in the Protocol as it was not assessed under the CIP criteria at the time of the illness, HR Managers in the Civil Service and across the sectors can use the discretionary provision to award extended sick pay in circumstances where someone had a serious illness or injury in the previous four years.
98. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide details on where Ireland stands in comparison with our European counterparts, with regards to export levels of indigenous small and medium enterprises; and his plans to improve our figures. [6346/15]
View answerTrade by Enterprise Characteristics (TEC) data is compiled by the OECD in conjunction with Eurostat and other national statistical institutions. The TEC database aims to fill the information gap on actors involved in cross-border trade, and contains international annual trade data broken down by different categories of enterprises. However, comprehensive statistics answering all aspects of the Deputy’s query are not readily available, particularly with regard to ownership categorisation within the available pan-European datasets. The most recent year of analysis presented by the OECD is 2011, and outlines comparative data for exporting enterprises across a range of OECD member countries including European Union members.
As can be seen from Table 1 which follows, Ireland has a comparable number of exporting companies in the employment size category of 0-249 employees (equivalent to SME employment criteria. One note of caution in interpreting the above data is that the categorisation relates to employee size class only, and does not represent Small and Medium Sized Enterprises as defined at European level (which includes further criteria related to turnover and balance sheet information)), to European countries such as Denmark, Hungary and Sweden, and significantly exceeds countries including Italy, Germany, Finland, the UK and France.
In terms of value per enterprise (0-249 employees), Ireland ranks among the highest in the OECD area (in fact only exceeded by New Zealand). The figures also show that Ireland has higher than average numbers of large (250 + employee) firms that export as a percentage of the total enterprise base. This is a well-established characteristic of the Irish enterprise base, related to the high degree of foreign direct investment attracted to the country, and the high proportion of total exports accounted for by highly globalised multinationals operating within Ireland’s small open economy.
In relation to plans to increase the number of exporting firms in the economy, I as Minister have made the internationalisation of SMEs a major priority within the annual Action Plan for Jobs.
This effort is being driven by my Department, through Enterprise Ireland, the agency with responsibility for driving the growth of exports from Irish SMEs on world markets. The agency reported record international sales from its client base in 2013, with exports exceeding €17.1bn.
Scaling companies through exports is a key pillar of Enterprise Ireland’s 2014-2016 Strategy. Following a weaker global environment than expected in 2014, global growth is expected to strengthen moderately (3.8%) in 2015 (Source: IMF). Enterprise Ireland clients’ two biggest markets, the UK and US, are expected to continue to grow strongly. However, increasing downside risks, including the ongoing weakness in the Euro area, could impact on global growth.
Increasing exports means more jobs, and in 2014, Enterprise Ireland’s focus was on helping clients build their positions in markets where they are strong and adding to the infrastructure and supports to maximise opportunities for Irish companies in key High Growth Markets (HGMs).
Special efforts were targeted at developing client exports in High Growth Markets and, in 2014 Enterprise Ireland received sanction for 20 additional staff in these markets to help grow exports to €3bn by 2016.
Enterprise Ireland assisted clients secured more than 1,300 new customers and significant contracts (40% of new customers in HGMs), and its clients established 455 new presences in international markets (45% in HGMs).
In addition, Enterprise Ireland worked with early stage HPSU companies to help them secure 131 new international reference customers. Final export figures for 2014 are expected to be announced by Enterprise Ireland in Quarter 2 of this year.
Among the initiatives planned to further the internationalisation of SMEs in Ireland for 2015 are:
- Enterprise Ireland through its programmes and overseas office network will target support for clients to achieve €19 billion in exports in 2015.
- A programme of 18 overseas ministerial-led trade missions and events will take place in 2015.
- EI will implement a targeted programme to attract senior level key inward buyer visits from key companies to match Irish supply capability in key sectors.
- Continued focus on the Potential Exporters in the enterprise base, by hosting nine Potential Exporter Awareness Events, and nine Potential Exporter Workshops across the country. This will target over 700 companies to have significant engagement with the EI Potential Exporter Division during 2015.
I am confident that Enterprise Ireland’s focus on ensuring the right supports are available for clients at every stage of growth, coupled with its priority to develop strong, export-focused, ambitious Irish companies that can win new business abroad, will ensure that exports from indigenous SMEs will continue to grow.
Table 1: TEC Database – OECD – Comparison of OECD exporting entities 2011
|
Country |
Exporting Enterprises (0-249 employees) per 10,000 Population |
Exporting Enterprises (0-249 employees) as % Total Exporting Enterprises (number) |
Exporting Enterprises (0-249 employees) as % Total Exporting Enterprises (value) |
|
Estonia |
89.11 |
99.1% |
75.6% |
|
Slovenia |
82.49 |
98.8% |
59.5% |
|
Belgium |
72.71 |
99.1% |
69.5% |
|
Slovak Republic |
54.30 |
98.6% |
38.3% |
|
Austria |
48.66 |
97.8% |
49.9% |
|
Denmark |
45.91 |
97.5% |
48.8% |
|
Hungary |
41.59 |
98.5% |
46.5% |
|
Sweden |
41.10 |
97.8% |
37.7% |
|
Ireland |
40.16 |
93.7% |
76.2% |
|
Portugal |
39.48 |
98.8% |
57.3% |
|
Italy |
33.88 |
99.1% |
56.2% |
|
Germany |
32.86 |
98.6% |
48.6% |
|
Greece |
30.31 |
98.4% |
51.9% |
|
New Zealand |
28.06 |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
Finland |
24.22 |
96.6% |
32.2% |
|
United Kingdom |
21.15 |
97.6% |
44.1% |
|
Poland |
17.86 |
97.1% |
41.5% |
|
France |
14.82 |
96.5% |
42.9% |
|
Canada |
11.38 |
96.3% |
38.7% |
|
United States |
9.04 |
96.2% |
29.6% |
|
Turkey |
6.86 |
97.1% |
59.8% |
Source: Data extracted on 09 Feb 2015 from OECD Stat
Source: OECD TEC by sector and size class; OECD Total population
99. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on marketing or training for local enterprise offices to assist them in promoting areas included in the regional aid area, to encourage businesses to the area, and ensure all are aware of the available grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6366/15]
View answerThe new European Union Regional Aid Guidelines 2014-2020 enable the State to grant State Aid, at enhanced rates, to businesses in order to support new investment and new employment in productive projects in Ireland's most disadvantaged regions. This helps the convergence of these regions with the more advantaged regions of the Union. Regional aid is also provided under schemes for tourism grants, marine tourism, urban and rural renewal and other tax-based development schemes. All such aid comes from the Exchequer rather than from EU or other external funding. The LEOs in the Counties covered by the Regional Aid Programme are fully apprised of the Guidelines. All LEOs provide a signposting and referral service for their clients to supports available from other State Agencies and this would encompass information on the Regional Aid Schemes operated by Agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta, etc.
