Written Answers Nos. 46 - 59
46. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide information on the number of persons of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds currently working in his Department and in other public service organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter [19562/16]
View answerThe Department does not collect data pertaining to the ethnic and cultural background of staff. However, the Civil Service is strongly committed to equality of opportunity in all its employment practices. As an employer, the Civil Service must fulfil its obligations under equality legislation, particularly the Employment Equality Act 1998. While recognising that people are different, our employment practices ensure that these differences do not lead to unlawful discrimination in the workplace.
As an employer, my Department strives to achieve real equality of opportunity by continuously monitoring its employment practices to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.
47. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the impact the establishment of the national procurement guidelines has had on job retention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19559/16]
View answerThe Office of Government Procurement (OGP) was established as one of the key elements of the Public Sector Reform programme. The primary aim is to achieve value for money by harnessing the State's buying power to purchase goods and services for the public sector in a manner that enables the provision of quality public services to be maintained within limited resources.
The State spends approximately €12 billion per annum on goods, services and works. This level of expenditure affords significant business opportunities for firms. The procurement reform is being carried out in a manner that recognises the clear importance of small and medium-sized enterprises to the country's economic recovery. European and National rules ensure that procurement processes must be transparent and equitable in the treatment of all suppliers. The OGP has estimated that approximately 93% of this annual procurement spend goes to Irish suppliers which illustrates that public procurement activity is a significant enabler of employment and economic activity within the State.
The recently transposed EU rules on Public Procurement are designed to facilitate SMEs to tender for public sector procurement contracts. Measures specifically designed to improve access for SMEs and start-ups include:
- financial capacity criterion is less onerous; it is generally limited to twice contract value;
- use of a self-declaration (European Single Procurement Document) of compliance with selection and exclusion criteria by suppliers should reduce the cost of participation;
- the discretion to divide public contracts into lots, with the proviso that opting not to divide a contract into lots must be explained;
- provision for "consortia bidding" to encourage SME involvement.
A number of these measures were included in Circular 10/2014 issued by the OGP in advance of transposition; a measure broadly welcomed by SME representative bodies at the time.
The reform of public procurement across the public service is on-going and will continue to provide opportunities to the SME sector to win business. The OGP will continue to work with industry and state agencies to ensure that winning government business is done in a fair, transparent and accessible way and to ensure that government procurement policies are business friendly.
48. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is aware of remarks by the Ombudsman seeking greater power to investigate complaints against private sector providers of public services and public service providers not currently covered within his remit; his plans to expand the remit of the Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19748/16]
View answerI am aware of the Ombudsman's view that, generally speaking, his Office should have remit over private sector providers of public services.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 greatly extended the remit of the Ombudsman with some 180 additional public bodies coming under his remit. The Ombudsman legislation provides that the Ombudsman may examine administrative actions taken by or on behalf of bodies within his remit. This means, for instance, that bodies such as Section 38 bodies which are provided with funding to deliver services for and on behalf of the Health Service Executive and Section 39 bodies which are provided with funding to assist them to provide health and social care services, can have their actions examined by the Ombudsman.
Furthermore, under the 2012 Act, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has the power to make an order bringing a body under the Ombudsman's remit if it is financed, wholly or partly, or directly or indirectly by means of monies provided by a Minister of the Government. This enabled the bringing in of over four hundred and thirty private nursing homes under the Ombudsman's remit with effect from 24 August 2015 under the terms of SI 300 of 2015.
My Department engages regularly with the Office of the Ombudsman and issues such as the extent of its remit are kept under frequent review.
50. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which he envisions co-operation in the public service will proceed on a cross-Border basis in view of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19557/16]
View answerPublic service reform was a key element of the response to the challenges we faced in recent years and continues to be an essential part of building for the future. In this context, we have been cooperating with our colleagues in Northern Ireland for a number of years, particularly since the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was established in 2011.
We have developed a good relationship on reform issues through an ongoing programme of engagement between my Department and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. This includes regular visits and bilateral discussions on a range of issues of mutual interest. For example, recent meetings have focused on Civil Service Renewal, digital government, alternative models of service delivery and shared services. Both Departments face similar challenges around budget constraints, demographics, quality of services and customer expectations, and this engagement provides good opportunities to share learning and best practice on Public Service Reform.
This collaborative relationship has been fruitful and I believe it is very important that this cooperation continues into the future, regardless of the outcome of the recent referendum on UK membership of the EU. Nevertheless, I will be considering all opportunities for enhanced cross-border cooperation in the context of Brexit.
54. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on establishing a single authority to deal with all matters relating to the River Shannon including flood relief measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19750/16]
View answerThe Government decided on 5 January 2016 to establish the Shannon Flood State Agency Co-ordination Working Group to enhance on-going co-operation across all of the State Agencies involved with the River Shannon.
The Group is comprised of the following membership and comes under the chairmanship of the Office of Public Works: Office of Public Works; Local Authorities, represented by the City and County Management Association; Waterways Ireland; Electricity Supply Board; Inland Fisheries Ireland; Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; Bord na Móna; Environment Protection Agency; Irish Water.
The Attorney General’s Office and other Government Departments may also participate, as requested by the Chairman.
The Group has met on three occasions to date and has conducted an audit of the roles and responsibilities of State Agency organisations and has published its Shannon Flood Risk Work Programme for 2016. This Work Programme which is available on the OPW website sets out co-ordinated actions and activities for the Shannon catchment. The Group has engaged in a programme of public consultation and has held a series of open days on its work programme. It is also considering in co-operation with the Attorney General’s Office the development of appropriate guidance that will set out more clearly the rights and responsibilities of non-statutory bodies in relation to watercourses.
The Group is due to meet again on 12 July 2016 to, inter alia, consider the draft Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Plan which will be published for public consultation shortly. The CFRAM is the core strategy for addressing flood risk in the Shannon Catchment. I intend to attend this meeting and to get an update from each of the state agencies on their actions and activities for the Shannon Catchment.
I am satisfied that the Shannon Flood State Agency Co-ordination Working Group is focussed on ensuring the best possible level of co-ordination between the statutory bodies on the River Shannon and that it will deliver the highest level of efficiencies to add value to the Shannon CFRAM programme.
55. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a breakdown of the €2.2 billion savings per year due to the financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19809/16]
View answerThe Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009 to 2013 provide for a range of pay and pension reduction measures in respect of serving and retired public servants. The some €2.2bn in savings referred to is made up of €1.21bn in pay reductions, €0.9bn by the Pension Related Deduction (PRD) and €0.135bn by the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR).
The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 has, with effect from 1 January 2016, commenced a phased and sustainable programme which ameliorates the impact of the measures implemented under the terms of the FEMPI Acts 2009-2013 through the implementation of the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) and a significant restoration of public service pension reductions.
56. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his expenditure on flood relief plans in 2016 to date; how this compares with projected expenditure at the start of 2016; the amount of expenditure that will be needed in the next ten years to deal with currently identified areas in danger of flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19749/16]
View answerThe core strategy for addressing the areas at significant risk and impact from flooding is the Office of Public Works' (OPW) Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. Good progress is being made on the CFRAM Programme, which is being undertaken by engineering consultants on behalf of the OPW working in partnership with the local authorities. The Programme involves the production of predictive flood mapping for each Area for Further Assessment (AFA), the development of preliminary flood risk management options and the production of flood risk management plans.
Good progress continues to be made this year also on the implementation of the CFRAM Programme. The Programme involves the production of predictive flood mapping for 300 areas of significant flood risk, the development of preliminary flood risk management options and the production of flood risk management plans for those areas.
The draft flood mapping is now being finalised following completion of the national statutory public consultation on 23rd December, 2015. Work on the development of preliminary options to address flood risk has been completed. Following finalisation of the mapping and the identification of flood risk management options, the final output from this important project will be integrated Flood Risk Management Plans containing specific viable measures to address in a comprehensive and sustainable way the significant flood risks identified. The draft Plans are scheduled to be made available for public consultation from mid-2016. Following the public consultation process the finalised Plans will include a prioritised list of measures, both structural and non-structural, to address flood risk in an environmentally sustainable and cost effective manner.
The OPW implements major flood relief schemes to protect our main towns and cities through its Flood Relief Capital Works Programme, carries out maintenance of those schemes and earlier, mainly agricultural schemes carried out under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945.
The total funding available to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for its overall flood risk management programme in 2016 is €80.746 million. This amount includes provision for expenditure on capital flood relief works, on arterial drainage maintenance activities, the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme, purchase of plant and machinery, hydrometric and hydrological investigation and monitoring and on the general administrative costs of operating the programme. Full details are provided in the Revised Estimates Volume 2016.
Of the total allocation of €80.746 million, an amount of €52.561 million has been provided in 2016 for expenditure on flood relief capital works. This amount provides for the preparation and design of flood relief schemes, the construction of flood relief works, the payment of compensation costs arising from these works and the carrying out of minor coastal or non-coastal works by Local Authorities with funding provided by the OPW under the Minor Works Scheme. It also provides for the carrying out of the CFRAM programme. The 2016 allocation includes a deferred surrender or capital carryover of €7m from the 2015 allocation. Expenditure on the flood relief programme in 2015 was less than budgeted for due primarily to delays in the planned commencement of construction of certain capital projects. The system of deferred surrender or capital carryover ensures that the funding is not lost to the flood capital investment programme.
Expenditure to date by the OPW in 2016 on its overall flood risk management programme is €23.223 million. Within this amount direct expenditure to date on the implementation of flood relief schemes and the CFRAM Programme is €10m approximately. This is somewhat ahead of the amount profiled for this at the beginning of the year. Good progress is being made on the implementation of all the main elements of the programme and I am satisfied that, while not without some challenges, expenditure of the full allocation for the year remains on target.
In relation to the capital works element of the programme in particular, major schemes in Ennis, Waterford and the river Wad in Dublin will be completed this year. Works are continuing on the major schemes in Bray, on the River Dodder in Dublin and on the quays in Dublin. The Deputy will be pleased to hear also that works have now commenced on the River Clare scheme in Claregalway, contracts have been signed for the major schemes in Bandon and Skibbereen and the contractors are mobilising to commence construction of those works in the next few weeks. The schemes for Templemore, Foynes and Dunkellin are expected to commence construction in 2016 also. Another 21 schemes will continue to be advanced through design and planning stages.
Smaller scale flood relief works continue to be funded in 2016 through the OPW's Minor Works scheme which puts local authorities in funds to carry out more localised flood mitigation measures. Expenditure of €2.5 - €3.0 million is anticipated on this scheme in 2016. Approximately 30 projects have been approved for funding to date in 2016 which brings the total number approved since 2009 when the scheme was introduced to 544 with total expenditure of €30m. approximately.
In the important area of maintenance, each year the OPW carries out work to approximately 2,000km of channels and some 200 structures around the country as part of its ongoing and rolling arterial drainage maintenance programme. €15.3 million is allocated to the maintenance programme nationally in 2016 and this programme and funding is fully committed for 2016. Expenditure to date in 2016 on the maintenance programme is €7.1 million which is in line with profiled expenditure. The timing of work on individual projects is determined having regard to the needs of regular maintenance and the prioritisation of urgent jobs.
Increased levels of investment in the area of flood relief will be required and are being provided for as part of the overall Infrastructure and Capital Investment Plan 2016-2021 and this investment programme will allow for consideration and implementation of measures arising from the CFRAM Flood Risk Management Plans. This Partnership Government is demonstrating its support of flood relief by committing to the €430m for Flood Risk Management (FRM) included within the 2016-2021 Infrastructure and Capital Investment Plan. Under the Plan expenditure on flood risk measures is planned to increase from its current level of €45m per annum to €100m per annum by 2021.
57. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe cén líon státseirbhíseach atá earcaithe le bliain anuas in a Roinn a bhfuil Gaeilge agus Béarla acu; cén grád ar ar earcaíodh iad; cén líón iomlán státseirbhíseach a earcaíodh i rith an ama sin agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [19554/16]
View answerLe 12 mhí anuas fostaíodh 245 státseirbheach don Roinn. Bhí formhór na bhfostaithe seo don Oifig Náisiúnta Seirbhísí Comhroinnte agus an Oifig um Sholáthar Rialtais. Oibríonn an Roinn liosta de baill foirne sa Roinn atá ábalta cabhrú le aistriúcháin Ghaeilge agus sna 12 mhí anuas bhí 3 ball foirne nua curtha leis an liosta seo (2 Oifigeach Riaracháin agus 1 Oifigeach Feidhmiúcháin). Beidh a fhios ag an Teachta nach mbíonn an-chuid teangmháil ag foireann mo Roinn le baill den phobal.
58. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 16 of 1 October 2015, the details of increases in investment by his Department in flood mitigation works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19729/16]
View answerA provision of €430 million funding for flood risk management was announced in the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Plan 2016-2021 published in September 2015.
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2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2020 |
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Flood Risk Management |
45 |
45 |
70 |
80 |
90 |
100 |
This funding is provided to the Office of Public Works (OPW) through the annual Estimates process and allows for a graduated increase in the annual capital allocation to the OPW for flood relief measures from its existing base of €45m to €100m by 2021. The €430 million allocation will enable the OPW to continue with the implementation of its existing programme of flood relief capital works and to commence implementation on a prioritised basis from 2017 onwards of the structural flood defence measures that will be included in the flood risk management plans being prepared under the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme including any viable measures identified to address flooding in the coastal locations included in the Programme. These plans are due to be finalised by end 2016.
The CFRAM Programme is the core strategy for addressing flood risk in areas at potentially significant risk from flooding and is the means for implementing the EU Floods Directive and national flood policy. The Programme is focussing on 300 Areas for Further Assessment (AFAs) including 90 coastal areas, mainly in urban locations nationwide, identified as being at potentially significant risk of flooding.
Pending the completion of the CFRAM Plans, OPW is continuing with the implementation of its existing comprehensive programme of flood relief Capital Works which includes projects at various stages of design, planning and construction. There are currently seven major schemes at construction in Bray, Co Wicklow, River Dodder, Dublin, South Campshires, Dublin, Ennis Lower, Ennis, Phases 2, 3 and 4 in Waterford City and construction is just underway in Bandon and Skibbereen. There are a further 26 at design and planning stage and it is expected that construction will commence on schemes in Claregalway, Templemore, Dunkellin river and Foynes in 2016.
OPW will also continue its Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, which allows local authorities to submit applications for funding to OPW for projects costing under €0.5m and which meet required criteria. €29m has been provided to date for 500 projects under the scheme.
59. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will implement the remaining sections of the Lobbying Act 2015; his plans to give the Standards in Public Office Commission authority to investigate and to prosecute cases where lobbying legislation is not complied with and to levy fines for breaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19745/16]
View answerCurrently, part 4 of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, which relates to enforcement provisions, has not been commenced. This was a deliberate decision made to allay any concerns that stakeholders may have had about inadvertent non-compliance with the provisions of the Act and to allow those lobbying a period of time to become familiar with their legal obligations and the registration system.
When the Bill was being considered in the Oireachtas, it was outlined that the enforcement provisions would not be put in place until after the first review of the Act was completed. The review will kick off in September and is expected to be completed in Q1 2017.
Given how well the first two registration periods went, and following consultation with the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPOC), it is proposed that SIPOC should work towards a commencement date for the enforcement provisions of 1 January 2017. This allows additional time for the Act to bed down and for persons lobbying to put in place their own systems for recording and reporting their lobbying activities. It also ensures that the legislative review will be largely complete before commencement of the enforcement provisions.
It is my intention to sign the Commencement Order shortly giving effect to the enforcement provisions from 1 January 2017.
