Written Answers Nos. 195-207
195. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the action his Department has taken to aid a person (details supplied) in the Philippines since the situation was discussed as a Topical Issue in Dáil Éireann. [38235/16]
View answerI am very much aware of the consular case in the Philippines and the very difficult circumstances in which this individual and his family find themselves.
As the Deputy is aware, I have personally raised my concerns with senior Philippines Government contacts, including most recently in New York in September.
As the present case is a legal matter and the subject of an ongoing judicial process in the Philippines, the extent to which the Irish Government can become involved, and the nature of the assistance and advice we can offer, is necessarily limited. The Irish citizen, who remains on bail, has filed an appeal with the Philippines Supreme Court against his conviction and sentence.
For any Irish citizen subject to criminal proceedings abroad, my Department officials will offer non-judgmental advice and any appropriate practical help that they can, irrespective of the alleged offence, and regardless of whether the individual is ultimately deemed to be innocent or guilty, is on remand or has already been sentenced by a court of law.
My Department officials at headquarters in Dublin, at our Embassy in Singapore, which is accredited to the Philippines, and our Honorary Consul in Manila, continue to remain very engaged on this case.
My officials in Embassy Singapore, on foot of a request from the individual concerned, are examining whether it is possible to seek to have the appeal process expedited, on humanitarian grounds.
The Consul from our Embassy in Singapore met with the individual in person recently.
Our Ambassador has recently raised the case again with Philippines government officials.
And at the start of November officials from my Department met with a representative of the individual in Dublin.
The citizen remains in regular contact with my consular officials in Singapore and in Dublin.
I and my Department officials will continue to give the matter priority attention and to provide what practical advice and support we can.
196. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will make representations to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland seeking the release of a person (details supplied) who has been incarcerated without trial since March 2016 on foot of having a licence revoked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38236/16]
View answerI am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers and my officials in the Belfast Secretariat monitor this and other cases as part of their ongoing work around prison issues generally in Northern Ireland.
It has been raised by them with the Northern Ireland Office. The person concerned was detained in March 2016 when the release licence granted to him under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement was revoked by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers.
I am informed that as part of the revocation process, the independent Northern Ireland Parole Commissioners carry out a full review of the case. The Parole Commissioners are charged with taking into account the obligations on the State of the European Convention on Human Rights in making their recommendation. This includes assessing the risk to the public should the person remain at liberty. Those whose licence is revoked under this process are provided with a copy of the independent Parole Commissioners recommendation, which sets out the reasons the licence was revoked.
197. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will arrange for the transfer to the dormant accounts fund of any monetary assets of dissolved companies held by his Department for upwards of 20 years on foot of section 28 of the State Property Act 1954; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38084/16]
View answerUnder Section 28 (2) of the State Property Act 1954, the Minister for Finance assumes responsibility for all personal property and land vested in or held in trust for a body corporate (other than personal property or land held by such body in trust for another person) immediately prior to its dissolution. Upon the dissolution of the body corporate, such property becomes State property. The effect of Section 28 is that the Minister does not hold the assets of dissolved companies as beneficial owner. He holds them in trust.
The title which the Minister acquires under this Section has been described as a defeasible title since, if the dissolved company is restored to the Register of Companies within twenty years of the date of its dissolution, its property is automatically restored to it.
While the monetary assets are vested in the Minister at this point, it remains open to such persons as the Minister thinks proper, to seek a waiver after 20 years.
I have no proposals to make amendments to State Property legislation at the present time.
198. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to set down in tabular form the total public sector gross pay, net pay, Government income and the total public sector net pay as a percentage of general Government revenue, with general Government revenue as defined by EUROSTAT in the European System of National and Regional Accounts 2010 in each of the years 2005 to 2015. [38123/16]
View answerThe following table sets out compensation of employees across the general government sector and general government revenue figures as reported on the Eurostat database in line with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010).
|
(€bn) |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Compensation of employees, payable |
16.6 |
18.2 |
19.9 |
21.2 |
20.7 |
19.3 |
19.4 |
19.0 |
18.6 |
18.3 |
18.9 |
|
General Government Revenue |
59.5 |
67.8 |
71.3 |
65.4 |
56.5 |
55.4 |
57.7 |
59.5 |
61.5 |
65.8 |
70.5 |
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(% General Government Revenue) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation of employees, payable |
28% |
27% |
28% |
32% |
37% |
35% |
34% |
32% |
30% |
28% |
27% |
199. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to set down the number and percentage of public servants whose performance-related pay was withheld as a result of not meeting targets and criteria for each of the past three years. [38255/16]
View answerSince the termination by Government of the scheme of performance related pay in 2009 such payment arrangements have not been sanctioned for civil servants or similar grades in other parts of the public service.
With regard to the Non-Commercial State Agencies, it is a matter of Government policy that Performance Related Award Schemes continue to be suspended on an indefinite basis. Access to such schemes is no longer included in the employment contracts for newly appointed CEOs or in contract renewals for incumbent CEOs.
In 2013 the Government reviewed the position on the payment of performance related reward schemes or bonuses for Chief Executive Officers in Commercial State Companies and confirmed the decision to omit provisions regarding Performance Related Awards from contracts of renewal or appointment in respect of the Chief Executive Officer of commercial state bodies.
It is a matter for the relevant Departments in the first instance to ensure that all bodies under their aegis are fully in compliance with Government pay policy in its application.
200. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to set out the semi-State companies which absorbed the private pension levy and the semi-State companies which have passed the cost of the levy on to their pension funds. [38278/16]
View answerThe pension levy on private pension funds was introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2011 by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, who holds statutory responsibility for the application of the levy. That Act amended the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 to provide for the levy of 0.6% to cover the period 2011 to 2014. The Finance (No. 2) Act 2013 introduced an additional levy of 0.15% for 2014 and 2015. The final levy applied under the legislation ceased in 2015. I understand that under the legislation it was the responsibility of the trustees of individual pension funds (including semi-State company pension funds) to decide whether and how the levies should be passed on and who should be impacted and to what extent, given the particular circumstances of the pension schemes for which they are responsible. I have no specific information available to me in relation to the application of the levies on semi-State company pension funds.
201. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when full post office services will be restored to Ardagh, County Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38111/16]
View answerAs Minister with responsibility for Regional Economic Development, my Department has a role in developing policies to support the overall sustainability of the Post Office Network.
However, operational matters and commercial strategies relating to the individual post offices, such as the one referred to by the Deputy, are a matter for the management and Board of An Post. I have no statutory function in relation to An Post and I have no responsibility or control in relation to service delivery at individual Post Offices.
Overall responsibility for the postal sector, including the governance of An Post, falls under the remit of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
202. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to outline the progress under the programme for Government on introducing a Sparkasse model for small and medium-sized enterprises lending. [38271/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to investigate, amongst other options, the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions.
The role of my Department in relation to this commitment is to work with other Departments and stakeholders to examine the feasibility of the model.
Senior officials from my Department recently met with their counterparts in the Department of Finance and have agreed to develop a work programme to examine the potential of the Sparkassen model and other models of local public banking, as referenced in the Programme for a Partnership Government.
The officials group will meet again in January and hope to be in a position to conclude their work around the middle of next year. As part of their work, the officials group will engage with relevant stakeholders as required.
203. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs whether any European funding is available for infrastructure projects in a bid to develop and create opportunities in disadvantaged regions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38121/16]
View answerThis Government aims to deliver balanced development across the regions so that as the economy recovers, the benefits are felt across the country. Responsibility for key elements of the Government's regional development strategy is shared across a number of Government Departments and State agencies.
One of the key European funding lines which aims to address regional imbalances across Europe is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is managed in Ireland by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The current funding period runs from 2014 to 2020 and Ireland's allocation of €409 m will be delivered through two separate Regional Operational Programmes managed respectively by the Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly. The specific focus of the two programmes will be on research and innovation, information and communications technologies, small and medium-sized enterprises and promoting a low carbon economy.
In addition to this, the LEADER Programme 2014-2020 is co-funded through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and supports locally identified initiatives relating to social inclusion, poverty reduction and the economic development of rural areas. LEADER funding can support relevant infrastructural projects in this context. The total amount of funding provided in Ireland for LEADER 2014-2020 is €250 million and will be distributed by LEADER Local Action Groups to rural communities in line with the actions identified in their local development strategies.
204. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if Brexit will have any direct implications for the completion of the Ulster Canal project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38228/16]
View answerOne of my main priorities since taking Ministerial office has been the restoration of the Ulster Canal.
I secured Government approval to restore a 2.5 km stretch of the Ulster Canal from the Shannon-Erne Waterway to the International Scout Centre at Castle Saunderson, Co Cavan on 24th February 2015.
The work to reopen this stretch of the Ulster Canal continues to progress. Waterways Ireland has informed me that the tender for the final stage of works, the construction of Derrykerrib Bridge, issued on 27th October with a submissions deadline of 12th December 2016. Subject to a successful tender and award process, it is proposed that works would start on site in 2017 with an anticipated 18 month contract period.
The outcome of the UK referendum will not have direct implications for the Ulster Canal project in the short term. There could potentially be implications in the longer term as Waterways Ireland has benefitted from EU structural funds in the past and, before the Brexit outcome, could potentially have developed such proposals in the future. Also, there is still considerable uncertainty regarding both the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the nature of its future relationship with Ireland and the rest of the EU. My Department will be keeping these matters under very close review.
205. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health to indicate the consideration his Department has given to a ruling of the High Court in July 2016, which found that "unborn" means an unborn child with rights extending beyond the right to life under Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38114/16]
View answerThe case to which the Deputy refers is still sub judice. Therefore, it would not be in order to comment on it.
206. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health whether a review has been undertaken into the rising cost of health insurance; if so, the details of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38186/16]
View answerMy Department has not undertaken a review into the cost of health insurance, as the main contributors to costs in the market are well established. The cost of private health insurance is influenced by a number of factors such as the number of persons in the market, the age profile of those holding private health insurance and ongoing medical innovations. Each of these are contributors to the cost of care, the cost of claims and therefore the cost of premia payable. The insurance companies operate as commercial providers and as Minister for Health, I have no legal power to intervene in relation to any insurer’s pricing strategies.
A community-rated health insurance market depends on inter-generational solidarity and requires a constant influx of young and healthy members to support the older, less healthy members. Lifetime Community Rating and "Young Adult" rates of premium were introduced last year to encourage young people into the market. Following on from their introduction, the number of people now holding private health insurance is 2.14 million, or 46% of the Irish population, which includes an increase of over 104,000 from January 2015 to January 2016. This upward trend has continued in 2016 when the market grew by a further 17,000 to end-September. An increase in the numbers taking out health insurance helps to control premium inflation, thereby keeping health insurance more affordable for those who wish to avail of it.
We have a highly competitive insurance market. Many consumers can make savings on their health insurance premiums by taking advantage of promotional offers and by reviewing their level of cover to ensure their needs are being met, without being over-insured. The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) has recently launched an information campaign to coincide with policy renewal called “Before you renew, see what’s right for you”, to help consumers make informed decisions. The HIA website offers a clear price comparison and can be accessed at www.hia.ie. All of the health insurers provide plans at a variety of price points, which provides scope for consumers to find value in the market and to access the level of cover appropriate to their individual or family needs.
207. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) can obtain a hearing aid on a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38206/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for reply.
