Written Answers Nos. 84 to 96
84. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the up-to-date status of the flood relief plans for the River Deel in Crossmolina in County Mayo; the progress of the statutory public exhibition; when he expects the Office of Public Works to seek formal sanction to proceed with a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33770/15]
View answerThe Office of Public Works (OPW) and its consultants are currently refining a preferred option for the Crossmolina Flood Relief Scheme, along with the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement which will assess the effect of the scheme on aspects of life in Crossmolina, from the natural environment to its possible impact on the quality of life for the residents of the town.
These documents, along with maps/drawings and photomontages will be used in the formal Scheme Exhibition, which it is hoped to hold early in 2016. The Exhibition will run for 4 weeks and the above documents will be on public display at a venue in Crossmolina (yet to be decided), along with a duplicate set being made available in the Council offices in Castlebar. In addition, on a number of days and evenings during the exhibition, OPW staff and consultants will be in attendance to answer queries and take comments on the scheme.
Following the exhibition period, a further minimum period of 4 weeks will be allowed for the receipt of comments and observations from interested parties, which will be given due consideration by the OPW, with the scheme being amended if appropriate. Following this, the detailed design of the Scheme will be undertaken which will allow the relevant documentation to be prepared to apply for formal Confirmation of the scheme under the Arterial Drainage Acts by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hopefully during the second quarter of 2016.
As part of the Confirmation process, the Minister will be required, as a result of EU environmental regulations, to have an independent assessment of the Environmental Impact Statement carried out. Every effort will be made to bring the Scheme to construction stage before end 2016 but it may be 2017 before construction commences.
The OPW remains fully committed to the Scheme and has provided for its costs in its multi annual budget profiles for 2016-2018.
85. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform where the 2015 graduate recruitment posts in the Civil Service will be located; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33771/15]
View answerThe 2015 civil service graduate recruitment competitions have just been launched by the Public Appointments Service. It is currently expected that over 200 roles will be filled in the civil service, in roles such as Third Secretaries, Administrative Officers, graduate economists and trainee auditors.
The specific location of these positions will be determined once the panel is established on the basis of requests made by Departments/Offices for assignments from that panel. Given such factors as, for example, the training requirements that arise for newly appointed personnel, it would be expected that the positions will largely be filled in the Dublin region. Although after a period of time, successful candidates may be posted to roles elsewhere in the State in line with service needs or to positions abroad in the diplomatic service.
86. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the expenditure carry-forward effects of previously announced measures from 2015 for Budget 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33842/15]
View answerThe Spring Economic Statement (SES) and the corresponding Stability Programme Update (SPU) outlined that fiscal space of the order of €1.2 to €1.5 billion is expected to be available for Budget 2016 split evenly between expenditure increases and tax reductions.
This would allow Government to target an increase in government expenditure of between €600m and €750m in 2016 relative to the 2015 spend and provides the scope to manage any additional impact of previous Budgets, deal with underlying demographic and spending pressures, and target enhancements in key public services.
In addition, as outlined in the SES, the range of €1.2 to €1.5 billion does not take into account re-allocation within expenditure funded by savings from efficiencies and policy measures. For example, Live Register savings over and above those related to the cycle due to lower unemployment as a result of existing activation measures will be available to fund new measures.
The increases in the expenditure ceilings between 2015 and 2016, set out in Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017, already reflect certain expenditure needs including demographics in Health, Education and Social Protection. For instance, Budget 2015 provided for a number of additional Mainstream and Resource Teachers as well as extra Special Needs Assistants posts to be created and provision for the 2016 cost of these posts is reflected within these ceilings.
Specifically in relation to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, the available fiscal space will be partly utilised to deal with the costs related to that agreement which, as previously stated, begins the process of unwinding the financial emergency measures in a prudent and sustainable fashion, thereby reducing the risk to sustainability of the public finances.
87. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which public expenditure remains on target and in line with the criteria laid down in the memorandum of understanding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33892/15]
View answer88. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he remains satisfied with the extent of the economic progress made in the area of public expenditure and reform and the degree to which he expects the general public to benefit from the sacrifices of the past seven years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33893/15]
View answer90. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider the specific measures which might alleviate the pressing needs in the areas of housing and health, while at the same time remaining within the terms of the memorandum of understanding which he inherited from his predecessors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33895/15]
View answer92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he remains satisfied that the prudent relaxation of some areas of expenditure might be beneficial to economic progress and continued recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33897/15]
View answer93. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which prudent public expenditure and reform will continue to be a part of economic progress and continued recovery in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33898/15]
View answer95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he continues to remain satisfied with his ability to maintain prudent spending policies in the context of the 2016 Budget, while at the same time meeting the most urgently required expenditure requests likely to come from his and other Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33900/15]
View answer96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the degree to which, in the context of Budget 2016, he will be in a position to acknowledge or reward the sacrifices made by the particular sectors which have contributed heavily to economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33901/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 95 and 96 together.
Ireland met or exceeded its key fiscal targets in each year of the EU/IMF programme of financial support. This resulted in a successful exit from the programme in December 2013.
As a result of the fiscal policies of this Government and the efforts of the Irish people, Budget 2015 marked a turning point where expenditure reductions were no longer required to meet our fiscal targets and the Government could look to making targeted increases in expenditure for key sectors.
As outlined in the Spring Economic Statement (SES), Ireland is on track to exit the corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) at the end of 2015 with a General Government Deficit of 2.3%. With Ireland moving to the preventive arm of the SGP, the SES outlined that fiscal space of the order of €1.2 to €1.5 billion would be available for Budget 2016 split evenly between expenditure increases and tax reductions. This will allow the Government to target prudent increases in expenditure of up to €750 million in 2016 relative to the 2015 spend. The specific measures will be announced on Budget day.
Public service reform remains at the heart of this Government's agenda and focuses on ensuring efficiency and improving outcomes for service users - that is, every citizen in the country. Investment in public services will continue to be targeted at priority areas and will be linked closely with reform. Importantly, the cost savings delivered through the reform programme are available for priority front-line services. Furthermore, the wide-ranging reforms to the budgetary architecture introduced by this Government support the efficient use of public funds to deliver effective services for citizens. The implementation of a medium term budgetary framework and the introduction of wide-scale reviews of public expenditure with the Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure allow for greater consideration and debate about key challenges facing public expenditure. In this regard, the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is an integrated cross-Government service which enhances the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making. IGEES staff operate in designated economic evaluation units and are engaged with almost all Government Departments.
Specific measures for Housing and Health are contained in the recently published Capital Investment Framework. Social Housing was identified as a critical area for investment, and over the period 2016 to 2021 capital funding of almost €3 billion will be provided in support of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which aims to increase the supply of social housing by up to 35,000 units. Furthermore, over €3 billion is being invested in Health. This will deliver major infrastructural projects such as the new National Children's Hospital, which will be the largest health infrastructure project ever undertaken in Ireland.
Building on this Government's track record, Budget 2016 will set out a responsible, affordable and sustainable way forward for expenditure.
89. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform whether he sees a requirement for specific options that might be pursued to facilitate the alleviation of the housing crisis which has built up over the past 15 years while keeping within the off balance sheet requirements; whether the Government will consider a development bond to address the growing problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33894/15]
View answerThe issue faced by the Government in responding to the housing crisis is not related to the availability of funding, but rather to the fiscal space available to the Government under the fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth pact which restrict Government's ability to increase expenditure, including on capital projects. Any funding that would be raised through the issuing by Government of a development bond, as suggested in the question, would be on-balance sheet in General Government terms; this means that it would not add to the fiscal space available and any spending or investment of the funding by the Government would use up existing fiscal space but not provide capacity for additional expenditure.
The Deputy will be aware, however, that the Government is already pursuing a number of off-balance sheet options to help address the housing crisis. Under PPP, €300 million will be invested in social housing which is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units. Potential sites have been identified and details of the first PPP bundle for procurement of some 500 units will be announced soon. In addition, work is also proceeding on options for the use of the €400 million from the proceeds from the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, which the Government has agreed to make available for this purpose, on an off-balance sheet basis. A Clearing House Sub-Group of the Social Housing Strategy's Finance Workstream, established by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has engaged in an extensive process of consultation with potential providers and financers of social housing and work is continuing on exploring a number of potential opportunities, identified as a result of the work undertaken to date, to use this €400 million, either alone or in conjunction with additional private funding, to facilitate the delivery of additional social and/or affordable housing through the private and/or voluntary housing sectors. If a private Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to fund social and affordable housing can be developed in that context, it could possibly involve the SPV issuing its own bonds to fund housing.
91. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to indicate whether he remains satisfied as to the extent to which public expenditure and reform will continue to remain a fundamental part of the economic framework in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33896/15]
View answerThe management of public expenditure and the formulation of overall public expenditure policy in recent years have played a crucial role in the economic recovery now underway. Public expenditure policy has helped stabilise the public finances on a sustainable basis, protect and support key public services, support employment, invest in vital infrastructure (as evidenced by the recent Capital Plan) and provide a stable framework for future economic progress. The role of expenditure policy has in turn been complemented by my Department's role in pushing the reform agenda throughout Government and the public service. This is intended to secure greater value for money in public services and public procurement, improve the quality of services to the citizen, engender greater public confidence in the institutions of the State and support the overall national recovery.
Noteworthy outputs under the reform heading include the liberalisation of the FOI framework, greater transparency in public institutions, the renewal of and greater accountability in the Civil Service, the regulation of lobbying and greater visibility of public data. I am confident that the continued management of public expenditure on a sustainable basis and the continued drive for reform throughout Government and the public service will be key foundations of the framework for future economic development.
94. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he and his Department have identified areas requiring further reform in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33899/15]
View answerThe Government's first Public Service Reform Plan was published in 2011. This plan provided the basis for the most significant programme of reform since the foundation of the State and was a key component of Ireland's recovery. Building on progress made in the first plan, the second Public Service Reform Plan was published in January 2014, covering the period 2014 to 2016.
The 2014 Plan places a particular emphasis on improving outcomes for service users, as well as maintaining the necessary focus on increased efficiency. A comprehensive Progress Report on the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016 was published in March of this year and can be seen on my Department's website. Publication of a second progress report is planned for early next year.
The Deputy will also be aware that the Taoiseach and I published a Civil Service Renewal Plan in October 2014 which runs for three years and will lead to major changes right across the Civil Service. A Progress report on achievements in the first 200 days was published in July and is also available on my Department's website.
Public Service Reform is by its nature a fluid process. Projects mature and new opportunities for reform initiatives are explored on an ongoing basis. The current plan, while setting out specific initiatives for the three year period 2014 to 2016, also sets out the broad direction of Public Service Reform to 2020.
