Written Answers Nos. 161-170
161. Deputy Declan Breathnach asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to protect St. Laurence's Gate in Drogheda in County Louth against vehicular traffic; and to provide resources to Louth County Council to ensure that damage that is continuing to happen to this historical site ceases immediately. [12490/16]
View answerSt. Laurence's Gate in Drogheda is a National Monument in State care and is maintained by the Heritage Service of the Office of Public Works.
From time to time Heavy Goods Vehicles and larger vehicles will attempt to gain access through the gate and this poses a collision risk to the structure. This is a matter of some concern and has I understand been raised a number of times by the OPW/Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht and within the Local Authority itself.
In the view of the OPW and the Department that the optimum solution would be to completely stop traffic from going through Gate; however, it is also understood that this is a busy traffic node within the town and would create certain difficulties from a traffic management point of view which would be a cause for concern within the Local Authority.
Mindful of the continuing risk-and particularly bearing in mind the recent collision incident which gave rise to the public interest– the Department and the OPW have recently made contact with officials of Louth County Council to arrange a meeting to discuss improvements in the traffic management system that will afford greater protection to St Laurence’s Gate, increase public access and reduce significantly any threats to the monument. In this regard it should be noted neither the OPW nor the Department have responsibility for the funding of traffic management projects and would have no resources available to them for this purpose.
162. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 169 of 17 May 2016, the measures he will take to ensure the inclusion of works carried out under the Office of Public Works' minor flood mitigation and coastal protection works scheme in the office's memorandum of understanding with Insurance Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12496/16]
View answerThe Memorandum of Understanding between Insurance Ireland and the Office of Public Works (OPW), which was signed in 2014, recognises that both parties have a common interest and objective in ensuring that appropriate and relevant information on completed OPW flood defence schemes is provided to insurers to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the availability to the public of insurance against the risk of flooding.
As indicated by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, the provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks. Where flood defences are constructed to provide protection to areas which have previously been subject to flooding, the insurance industry has made clear its position that the defences should be designed and constructed to protect against a flood event with an Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) of 1% (commonly referred to as a 100-year flood event). OPW flood defence schemes are generally designed and constructed to protect against a 1% AEP flood event for fluvial flood events and 0.5% AEP flood event for tidal floods. OPW provides detailed background and technical information on its completed flood defence schemes to Insurance Ireland, and II members have committed to take all this information into account when assessing exposure to flood risk within these areas.
The purpose of the OPW’s Minor Flood Mitigation and Coastal Protection Works Scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies to relatively straightforward cases where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame. In such cases, the standard of protection would not generally be designed to protect against a 1% AEP flood event. Minor works projects are carried out or managed by local authorities, and OPW generally would not have detailed technical and design information on these projects.
As minor works projects are not generally designed to meet the desired standard set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, and as OPW does not possess the relevant technical information, there are no plans to bring minor works projects within the scope of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The subject of insurance against the risk of flooding is one of the matters which will be addressed in the forthcoming report to Government from the Inter-Departmental Flood Policy Co-Ordination Group.
164. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the timeframe for the public service pay commission to act on pay inequality. [12252/16]
View answer168. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure the recommendations of the public service pay commission, when it is established, will take account of the loss of earnings and allowances by public sector staff in its report and recommendations; and the action he will take in respect of the two-tier pay in the public service. [12453/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 164 and 168 together.
The Government in the Programme for a Partnership Government has committed to establish a Public Service Pay Commission. As I have previously indicated (PQ reply 10976/16), the precise structure of such a Commission and the technical aspects as to how it would operate have yet to be decided upon and would require broad consultation with all stakeholders, including staff representatives.
The issue of addressing the difference in incremental salary scales between those public servants who entered public service employment since 2011 and those who entered before that date has already been addressed with the relevant union interests under the provisions of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018 (Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road Agreements). The Programme also commits the Government to fully implementing the Agreement.
The Programme states that the Pay Commission will examine pay levels across the public service, including entry levels of pay. It is important to emphasise that it is only within the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement that any further consideration of remuneration adjustment for any group of public servants, including issues relating to more recently recruited public servants, will fall to be examined. Any measures taken will also have to comply with the terms of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009-2015 (FEMPI) as well as delivering the necessary productivity and other workplace change that will underpin their affordability.
165. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the Ministers and Ministers of State in the Thirty-second Dáil who are eligible for annual funding under the leaders' allowance scheme and the maximum amount that can be paid to each in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12264/16]
View answerThe Parliamentary Activities Allowance (formerly known as the Party Leader's Allowance) is provided for in the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 as amended, most recently by the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices)(Amendment) Act, 2014.
The allowance is paid to the parliamentary leader of a qualifying party in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party. Payments are made in respect of members of the party elected to Dáil Éireann and members elected/nominated to Seanad Éireann at the last preceding general election or a subsequent bye-election or, in the case of Seanad Éireann, nominated to it after the last preceding general election. The legislation also provides that payments may be made to a member of Dáil or Seanad Éireann who is elected other than as a member of a qualifying party-i.e. an Independent member.
The conditions governing entitlement to payment of the allowance are set out in the Act. The primary restriction in the Act on the use of the allowance is that it may not be used in respect of election expenses.
The legislation provides that each party leader and independent member must prepare a statement of expenditure for the allowance, to have it audited by an independent auditor and furnish it with the auditor's report to the Standards in Public Office (the Commission) Commission. Based on the accounts submitted, the Commission is required to make a report in relation to the use of the Parliamentary Activities Allowance and cause a copy of the report to be laid before the Oireachtas.
The amount payable to party leaders is calculated on a tiered basis by reference to the number of party members who are elected or nominated to the Dáil or Seanad and is fixed at the time of the election, or following a bye-election, as follows:
|
Party TDs |
Annual Rate per Member |
Government Parties |
|
First 10 Members |
€64,368 |
€42,912 |
|
11 to 30 Members |
€51,493 |
€34,329 |
|
More than 30 Members |
€25,754 |
€17,169 |
The legislation provides that, in the case of a qualifying party forming part of the Government, the combined allowances due in respect of TDs of that party are reduced by one third.
|
Party Senators |
Annual Rate per Member |
|
First 5 Members |
€42,089 |
|
More than 5 Members |
€21,045 |
Independent Members
The annual rates applicable to Independent members are: TD €37,037 ; Senator €21,045.
On that basis, and pending the Taoiseach's nominees to Seanad Éireann, the annual rates currently applicable to political parties are as follows:
|
Party |
Annual Rate per annum |
|
Fianna Fáil |
€2,433,946 |
|
Fine Gael |
€1,837,885 |
|
Sinn Féin |
€1,565,624 |
|
Labour Party |
€661,021 |
|
AAA-PBP |
€ 386,208 |
|
Independents 4 Change |
€257,472 |
|
Social Democrats |
€193,104 |
|
Green Party |
€170,825 |
The annual rate applicable to Ministers and Ministers of State elected as Independent members of Dáil Éireann - i.e. Ministers Naughten, Ross and Zappone; and Ministers of State Canney, Halligan and McGrath - is €37,037.
166. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for details of the pay scales and grades within the public sector in 2008 and for all circulars relating to changes in the public sector in pay, grade structures, conditions and productivity in each of the years 2008 to 2015, in tabular form. [12270/16]
View answerThe information outlined below is exclusively in respect of pay scales and grades in the Civil Service. The relevant circulars containing this information are available on my Departments website at: http://www.per.gov.ie/en/ and at http://circulars.gov.ie/.
Accordingly the relevant Civil Service pay (and grades) circulars for the period 2008 to 2015 contained on the Department's website are:
- Circular 18/2008 - Revision of Pay for Civil Servant; Application of increases under section 27.17 of Towards 2016
- Circular 28/2009 - Revision of pay of Civil Servants; Application of pay adjustments in accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act (The Croke Park Agreement)
- Circular 18/2010 - Reduction of 10% in the pay rates and fixed term allowances of persons to be recruited to certain direct entry grades in the Civil Service
- Circular 8/2013 - Revision of pay of Civil Servants; Application of pay adjustments and related measures in accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2013 and the Haddington Road Agreement
- Circular 2/2014 - Implementation of Clause 2.31 of the Haddington Road Agreement; revised Payscales and allowances for persons recruited to certain direct entry grades
- Circular 3/2014 - Pay arrangements for certain new entrant employees to the public service who are required to be members of the Single Public Service Scheme
- Circular 14/2014 - Arrangement for compensating extra attendance for officers working a normal Monday to Friday week
- Circular 17/2015 - Application of pay adjustments and related measures in accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2015 and the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018 (The Lansdowne Road Agreement)
Relevant circulars relating to work change arrangements in the civil service in the period 2008 to 2015 also include:
- Circular 11/2013 - Revision of Working Hours and Flexible Arrangements for Civil Servants
- Circular 12/2013 - Amendments to the Civil Service Worksharing Scheme
- Circular 12/2015 - Arrangements for paid sick leave.
The Public Services Stability Agreement 2013-2018 (inclusive of: the Croke Park Agreement, Haddington Road Agreement and The Lansdowne Road Agreement) include reference to productivity arrangements both in the civil service and public service areas. These Agreements are also available on my Department's web site as indicated above.
167. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will take urgent steps to protect St. Laurence's Gate in Drogheda in County Louth from being further damaged by vehicular traffic (details supplied); if he will consult with Drogheda Borough Council and put a proper traffic management system in place which will afford full protection to this national monument; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12405/16]
View answerSt. Laurence's Gate in Drogheda is a National Monument in State care and is maintained by the Heritage Service of the Office of Public Works.
From time to time Heavy Goods Vehicles and larger vehicles will attempt to gain access through the gate and this poses a collision risk to the structure. This is a matter of some concern and has I understand been raised a number of times by the OPW/Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht and within the Local Authority itself.
In the view of the OPW and the Department that the optimum solution would be to completely stop traffic from going through Gate; however, it is also understood that this is a busy traffic node within the town and would create certain difficulties from a traffic management point of view which would be a cause for concern within the Local Authority.
Mindful of the continuing risk-and particularly bearing in mind the recent collision incident which gave rise to the public interest–the Department and the OPW have recently made contact with officials of Louth County Council to arrange a meeting to discuss improvements in the traffic management system that will afford greater protection to St Laurence’s Gate, increase public access and reduce significantly any threats to the monument. In this regard it should be noted neither the OPW nor the Department have responsibility for the funding of traffic management projects and would have no resources available to them for this purpose.
169. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will issue a reply to this Deputy regarding correspondence on the Office of Public Works investigations into a river (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12481/16]
View answerAn Engineer from the Office of Public Works (OPW) met with a representative of Donegal County Council in June 2015 to inspect lands which had been flooded by the Bulba river in December 2014 and on previous occasions. Data from OPW’s Hydrometric records for Gartan Bridge (which date back to 1972) indicate a recurring flooding problem in this area since 1984.
The river concerned does not form part of any Arterial Drainage Scheme which would fall under the remit of the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts. The OPW therefore has no responsibility for the maintenance of the channel nor any authority to carry out works there. Local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each local authority to investigate and address, and Donegal County Council may carry out flood mitigation works using its own resources.
The Council may also apply to the Office of Public Works for funding of flood mitigation works under the 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 at http://www.opw.ie/en/floodriskmanagement/operations/minorfloodworkscoastalprotectionscheme/.
Any application received will be considered in accordance with the overall availability of resources for flood risk management and the scheme’s eligibility criteria. To date, OPW has not received any application from Donegal County Council for the location referred to in this question.
I might mention that, on the site visit, the presence of freshwater pearl mussels was noted within Gartan Lough and the Lennon River system. This presents an environmental issue that may restrict any proposed works along the Bulba river.
170. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for an out-of-season licence for shooting deer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12390/16]
View answerAn application was received in my Department last month from the individual in question for a permit under Section 42 of the Wildlife Acts to hunt deer out of season. The permit has issued to the individual.
