Written Answers Nos. 293-301
293. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the annual saving to his Department if spending on education and training was reduced by 2.5%, 5% and 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26927/15]
View answerThe allocation for 2015 for training and development in the Department is €160,000. The impact of applying the percentages to this figure is set out in the following table.
|
Budget 2015 |
% Reduction |
€ Saving |
|
€160,000 |
2.5 |
4,000 |
|
|
5 |
8,000 |
|
|
10 |
16,000 |
294. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the annual saving to his Department if spending on professional fees, including but not limited to legal, IT-related, accountancy and other advisory and consultancy fees, was reduced by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26955/15]
View answerInformation relating to expenditure on various types of external services is published as a matter of course on my Department's website and can be found at the following link http://www.dttas.ie/corporate/publications/english/expenditure-external-services-2014 for the period to 31 December 2014. A 10% reduction in the annual spend on professional fees (based on 2014 outturn) would result in a saving to my Department of €6,397k.
295. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the annual saving to the Exchequer if the Minister's special advisers' salaries were capped at the first point of the principal officer grade, that is, €75,647; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26969/15]
View answerThere are two Special Advisors in my Department currently on Point 1 of the Principal Officer pay scale as sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in line with Government policy. If both of their salaries were to be capped at the first point of the scale the total gross saving, before statutory deductions, that would accrue to the Exchequer would be in the region of €10,000 per annum.
296. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the annual saving to his Department and the bodies under its aegis if all the fees for all State agency, non-commercial State-sponsored bodies and commercial semi-State board members were reduced by 25%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26983/15]
View answerIt is not possible to quantify the information sought by the Deputy given the varying tax treatment of individual board members. In the case of commercial agencies, board fees are not a charge on the exchequer so there would be no saving to the Department.
In the case of the non commercial agencies, the listed fees are before tax and the net impact would depend on the tax allowances and bands of the individuals concerned. Serving public servants are generally not entitled to the payment of fees for serving on State Boards and, since January 2012, board members have been given the opportunity to waive their fees.
297. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the action the National Parks and Wildlife Service is taking in relation to breaches of 2014-15 hare coursing licences; if prosecutions have been initiated; and if she will reject an application for a 2015-16 licence. [26535/15]
View answerI have received licence applications from the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of its affiliated clubs to facilitate the tagging and capturing of hares for the purposes of hare coursing for the 2015/16 coursing season. In examining these applications, my Department will take account of the various reports available to it in respect of coursing meetings carried out during the 2014/15 season. No prosecutions have been initiated by my Department.
298. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual saving to her Department if spending on education and training was reduced by 2.5%, 5% and 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26915/15]
View answerIn line with the Performance Management Development System, which identifies staff training needs and skills requirements to deliver on business plans and objectives, my Department supports the development of staff through formal training courses, in-house training, attendance at relevant conferences and seminars, refund of academic fees, and reimbursement of professional membership fees. My Department spent a total of €246,400 on training and development in 2014. The following table sets out the totals involved in a 2.5%, 5%, and 10% reduction in that expenditure.
|
% Reduction |
Value |
|
2.5% |
€6,160 |
|
5% |
€12,320 |
|
10% |
€24,640 |
299. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual saving to her Department if spending on professional fees, including but not limited to legal, IT-related, accountancy and other advisory and consultancy fees, was reduced by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26943/15]
View answerI am advised that if spending by my Department on all services that are subject to Professional Services Withholding Tax were maintained at the levels observed in 2014, then a reduction of 10% in the associated fees would result in a reduction in expenditure of the order of €300,000 per annum.
As the Deputy will appreciate, expenditure of this kind is subject to considerable variation over time as various projects commence and others are completed. My Department continues to seek to keep costs arising under these headings to a minimum.
300. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual saving to the Exchequer if the Minister's special advisers' salaries were capped at the first point of the principal officer grade, that is, €75,647; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26957/15]
View answerBoth of my Special Advisors have been paid at the first point on the Principal Officer Scale since their appointment in 2014.
301. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the annual saving to her Department and the bodies under its aegis if all the fees for all State agency, non-commercial State-sponsored bodies and commercial semi-State board members were reduced by 25%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26972/15]
View answerThe total amount paid in fees in 2014 to members of State boards under my Department’s aegis was €200,207. On that basis, if fees were reduced by 25% it would potentially result in a saving in the order of €50,000. However, I am advised that expenditure on board fees is expected to fall in 2015, mainly because some board members who could claim fees have waived their fee on a voluntary basis. Consequently, the savings that could potentially arise from any given percentage reduction in fees may be less than the level indicated above.
In the interest of completeness, it should be noted that appointments to the boards of Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency, as agencies of the North South Implementation Body, are made by the North South Ministerial Council. Details of fees in relation to these boards may be found on the websites www.forasnagaeilge.ie and www.ulsterscotsagency.com.
