Written Answers Nos. 609-627
609. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the OPW is providing funding to Dublin City Council for the flood defence project as part of the S2S footway and cycleway interim works scheme in Clontarf, Dublin 3; the amount of funding to be provided; if difficulties have been notified to his Department regarding these works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12889/17]
View answerMy officials advise that the Office of Public Works is not providing any funding for the works at Clontarf to which you refer. These works are being funded entirely by Dublin City Council (DCC) under the S2S project and the Council is best placed to provide the most up to date information and details on progress with those works.
610. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total number of State assets sold since 2011; the use of the proceeds of these sales; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13160/17]
View answerTo date, the Exchequer has received nearly €1.5 billion in cash arising from the State Assets Disposal Programme and the sale of the National Lottery licence, comprising:
- €400m from ESB, generated from the sale of its 50% shareholdings in two overseas assets in the UK and Spain and from a realisation for the Government of the value of ESB's two midlands peat plants;
- €335m in respect of Aer Lingus, arising from its acquisition by IAG;
- €350m from Ervia, in respect of the sale of Bord Gais Energy; and
- €400m from sale of the National Lottery Licence.
When all of the remaining proceeds from the sale of Bord Gais Energy have been received, the final total from all of these State asset disposals is expected to be about €2.1 billion.
Since the State Asset Disposal Programme was agreed by Government, a number of significant announcements have been made of allocations of additional funding for capital investment to be funded from proceeds of the asset disposals. Details of these investment programmes are on my Department's website, and further detail about individual projects and programmes is available from the relevant Ministers and their Departments. However, in summary:
- In July 2012, in its first infrastructure stimulus plan involving a total investment of €2¼ billion, the Government announced that on foot of the State Assets Disposal Programme, it would undertake further Exchequer investment including enabling works to support the PPP projects. Almost €100m was made available for enabling works on the roads and education PPPs.
- In June 2013, the Government allocated €150m additional Exchequer investment to schools, energy efficiency and roads projects;
- At Budget 2014, the Government announced that along with the €200m already committed to the National Children's Hospital, some €200m would be invested from the proceeds of the Lottery Licence transaction and used for a range of projects and programmes;
- In May 2014, the Government allocated a further €200m of investment for a range of capital projects in a number of different sectors and regions across the country.
- At Budget 2015, the Government announced that €400m of the proceeds to be received from the sale of Bord Gais Energy would be made available to support the Government's Social Housing Strategy. The Department of Housing has been working on proposals to utilise this funding.
- In 2015, the Government allocated the €335m proceeds from the sale of its shareholding in Aer Lingus to establish a Connectivity Fund, to support commercial projects that enhance connectivity both within and for the State. The Connectivity Fund was established as a sub-Fund of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and is being managed by that Fund.
In total, the Government has, to date, allocated over €1.5 billion from the proceeds of the State Assets Disposal Programme and the sale of the National Lottery licence to support jobs and economic development across the country. On this basis, it is clear that very substantial benefits for the public have been realised from this initiative.
611. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of pension restoration for retired public servants; if retired public servants in receipt of a public service pension will be engaged as part of the Public Service Pay Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12787/17]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 8203/17 on 21 February 2017.
612. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has been consulted by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment regarding potential proposals to provide financial assistance to An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12789/17]
View answerThe Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment has not raised with me any proposals to provide financial assistance to An Post.
613. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has been consulted by the Minister for Health or the HSE on the cost of the deal made between the HSE and the IMO for the restoration of the living out allowance for non-consultant doctors and on proposals to fund the deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12791/17]
View answerThe issue raised by the Deputy was the subject of deliberations between my Department and the Department of Health. Arising from this the Department of Health was informed that my Department was not in a position to provide extra monies in 2017 to fund the expenditure involved in the restoration of the living out allowance. Accordingly, the Department of Health will be required to provide the funding in respect of this cost from its current year financial allocation.
614. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount already allocated and the initiatives and programmes implemented with regard to the €5 billion extra funding allocated for capital expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12792/17]
View answerA commitment was made in the Capital Plan to conduct a review in 2017 in order to take stock of progress and provide the Government with an opportunity to reaffirm priorities. Since the Capital Plan's publication, the Programme for a Partnership Government (PfPG) committed to seeking Oireachtas approval for additional capital investment of €4 billion over the period of the Capital Plan. This was further increased to €5.14 billion in the 2016 Summer Economic Statement.
Some of this additional €5.14 billion has already been allocated as follows:
- €750m was allocated in the 2017 Estimates - €250m in each of the 3 years 2017-2019. €450m of this was allocated to the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, in support of the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, with the remaining €300m allocated across a number of other Departments to supplement existing capital plans of those Departments, including: Transport, Tourism and Sport; Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources; Education and Skills; Jobs Enterprise and Innovation; and Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
- A further €1.75b was also pre-committed to supporting the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, bringing the overall additional commitment in this area to €2.2b.
The effect of the above is that there is approximately €2.64 billion additional uncommitted capital remaining to be allocated, on the basis of the findings of the review.
615. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the mid-term capital review will be open to public submissions; if so, the date of the deadline for submissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12793/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I recently announced the commencement of the review of the capital plan. As part of that review Departments have been asked to make submissions to my Department outlining their investment plans and priorities. Once these have been received from all Departments and in keeping with the transparency objective of the capital review process it is planned to publish the submissions on the Department's website.
Once this has taken place, my Department will commence a public consultation to ascertain the views of the public and key stakeholders on what our national infrastructure priorities should be in light of the Departmental submissions. This process will be open to all, consistent with my Department's November 2016 Consultation Principles & Guidance developed under Ireland's Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.
616. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the ownership of a golf club (details supplied); and his plans for same. [12809/17]
View answerThe property referred to by the Deputy is in the ownership of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.
Officials in my office are currently in discussions with An Garda Síochána regarding this property and once these discussion conclude plans will then be formulated for the property.
617. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason community employment supervisors were treated differently from community development programme, CDP, workers who were employed by community projects in relation to their pension entitlements. [12939/17]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is not held by my Department and may be more appropriate for reply by my colleagues the Minister for Social Protection in respect of Community Employment Supervisors and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government in respect of Community Development Programme (CDP) workers.
618. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether it is required in the public spending code that projects included in the capital investment plan should have undergone at least a preliminary business case analysis. [12960/17]
View answerAs specified in the Capital Plan itself each Government Department must ensure that individual projects and investment proposals are subject to all of the relevant appraisal processes and value for money tests in accordance with the Public Spending Code (PSC) before Exchequer resources are committed under the Capital Plan.
The Capital Plan itself sets out the framework and broad direction for investment priorities and provides Exchequer allocations to Departments.
The Public Spending Code includes a comprehensive set of expenditure appraisal and Value for Money requirements, together with related guidance, covering all public expenditure at all stages in the spending lifecycle before, during and after spending. The complexity of the appraisal or evaluation of a project or programme, and the methods used, will depend on the size and nature of the project or programme and should be proportionate to its scale.
The Capital Plan also specifies that Departments are also responsible for ensuring that projects meet with appropriate regulatory requirements including those related to planning law and environmental impact assessments. In addition, it also points out that all capital investment projects and programmes costing more than €100 million will be subject to a further level of scrutiny, requiring specific Government approval before final contracts are agreed.
Finally, the PSC clearly acknowledges that the economic costs and benefits are not always the only factors influencing policy decisions regarding public expenditure. There may also be social or other public policy considerations which inform the decision making process. It observes that a fundamental principle is that nothing in the PSC should be taken as precluding Government or Ministers from deciding to approve projects independent of the evidence arising from detailed application of the Public Spending Code appraisal requirements. Any such decisions still require Departments to ensure that best practice is adhered to as regards public financial procedures generally, in terms of ensuring that the necessary terms and conditions are applied to secure full accountability and transparency for the funds including the rules regarding sanction of the Minister for Public Expenditure.
619. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Rosscullane Road, Castlemaine, County Kerry (details supplied) will be refurbished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13009/17]
View answerI am advised by Office of Public Works (OPW) engineering staff that any damage to the Rosscullane Road in Castlemaine was not caused by OPW works. While this Office did undertake works in the Roscullen Island area in 2014, following the extensive floods of January and February of that year, the rock armour and boulders used to strengthen the riverbank were already in situ since previous years.
Accordingly, any remediation works to this road, if it a public road, would in the first instance be a matter for the Local Authority to consider.
620. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to discontinue the public service pension reduction; and if so, when will it be discontinued. [13011/17]
View answerThe Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR), which was introduced on 1 January 2011, is a progressively structured imposition on public service pensions under terms set out in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act 2010, as amended.
The PSPR burden on pensioners, which was increased for higher income pensioners from July 2013 under FEMPI 2013, is now being significantly alleviated under FEMPI 2015. This substantial part-reversal of PSPR is proceeding in three stages over the period 2016 to 2018; when complete on 1 January 2018 it will mean that most public service pensioners are not affected by PSPR. All public service pensions with pre-PSPR values of up to €34,132 will be fully exempt from PSPR from then on, while those pensioners not fully removed from the reach of PSPR will, in the majority of cases, benefit by €1,680 per year.
That FEMPI 2015-driven amelioration of PSPR for pensioners is proportionately more substantial than the FEMPI 2015 income gains for serving public servants. In addition, the PSPR measure itself, both at launch time in 2011 and following rate increases in 2013 (under FEMPI 2013), has impacted less severely on pensioners than have the comparable FEMPI measures (pay cuts and PRD) on serving staff.
Any additional changes in the PSPR will be considered in the context of any further considerations in relation to the amendment of the FEMPI Acts.
621. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the Public Service Pay Commission report will be published; and when a decision will be made to reverse the cuts in pay and allowances to PDFORRA members of the Defence Forces. [13049/17]
View answerThe Public Service Pay Commission has been tasked with providing an initial report to Government on public service remuneration in the context of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009 2015. The findings of the Commission will contribute to and inform Government's considerations in relation to Public Service remuneration and will inform Public Service employers in negotiations with staff interests on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Commission will report early in Quarter 2,2017.
Once this report is available, the Government intends to initiate negotiations on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. These negotiations will be between the Government as employer and the public service trade unions and representative associations on behalf of public service workers and will include public service remuneration issues pertaining to PDFORRA.
622. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full year cost of unwinding FEMPI cuts for all public sector workers currently earning less than €65,000 gross per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13052/17]
View answer623. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full year cost of unwinding FEMPI cuts for all public sector workers currently earning more than €65,000 gross per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13053/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 622 and 623 together.
After full implementation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, the full year cost of unwinding the remaining FEMPI measures for public servants earning less than €65,000 gross per year is approximately €780m plus PRSI. The full year cost of unwinding the remaining FEMPI measures for public servants earning greater than €65,000 gross per year is approximately €632m plus PRSI.
624. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full-year cost of pay equalisation for post-2011 entrants into the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13054/17]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my answer to PQ Ref: 10498/17 on the 28th of February 2017.
625. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full-year cost of making the public sector a living wage employer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13055/17]
View answer626. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full-year cost of making the Civil Service a living wage employer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13056/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 625 and 626 together.
The most recent aggregate data (based on pay bands) available to the Department indicates that some 93% of all public service staff are on salary points in excess of €25,000 per annum. The commonly referenced living wage rate of €11.50 per hour, based on the Civil Service 37 hour standard net working week, equates to an annual salary of €22,203.
Data on Civil Service staff indicates that only approx 4% of staff (FTE) in the Civil Service are on salary points less than €22,203, with the majority of those on points in the range €20,000 to €22,000. The estimated cost within the civil service, which is some 12% of the overall public service, would be €1.6m. Detailed costings in other sectors of the public service would require collation and estimation on an individual sector level, based on detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This detailed data is only available to individual public service employers.
Any of those currently on an annual salary of less than €22,203 in the public service may be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested living wage through additional premium payments in respect of shift or atypical working hours or may benefit from salary scales that progress to the referenced living wage through incremental progression.
From April 1st, the €1,000 increase in annualised salaries for public servants earning under €65,000 will further increase the numbers of public servants earning in excess of €11.50 per hour and reduce the potential additional cost accruing to the Exchequer from the introduction of a Living Wage.
627. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full-year saving as a result of reducing all Deputies' salaries to €75,000 and all Senators' salaries to €60,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13057/17]
View answerAs I advised the Deputy in my reply to Question No. 368 on 18 October 2016 (ref. 30893/16), following the application of the provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, underpinned by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015, the following salary rates will apply to Members of the Oireachtas:
|
- |
1 April 2017 |
1 January 2018 |
|
TD |
€89,965 |
€92,672 |
|
Senator |
€65,311 |
€65,621 |
Reducing the annual salary rate of a TD to €75,000 and a Senator to €60,000 from 1 January 2018 would yield annual savings of €2,792,176 and €337,260 respectively.
