Written Answers Nos 1-61
46. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to ensure that excessive pensions for former politicians and public servants are curtailed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40459/17]
View answerThe pay and pensions of public servants including members of the Oireachtas were significantly reduced by a series of Financial Emergency Acts. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Acts, including the FEMPI 2010 Act which imposed the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) on public servants in receipt of public service pensions, owe their constitutional legitimacy to the presence of an overriding public interest, and because they are very general in application, fair and proportionate. This is the legal basis for the reductions in pensions applicable to former members and office holders of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The FEMPI measures are only lawful because they are very general (many tens of thousands of pensioners are affected by the FEMPI reductions), and are designed to be fair and proportionate. It is not legally possible to single out individuals or groups and apply cuts to them on a different basis. It is the Government’s stated position to unwind the measures imposed under the FEMPI Acts as soon as possible with particular regard to the impacts on public service pensions in payment and public service pensioners.
The Courts are extremely sensitive to retrospective changes to pensions which are viewed as vested property rights. The Government is required to work within the constitutional and statutory legal framework under which all Irish Governments operate.
47. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has revised the method of cost-benefit analysis currently in use for transport and infrastructure projects; and if he is satisfied with the current method for assessing such projects. [40454/17]
View answerThe Public Spending Code is the set of rules and procedures that apply to ensure that value for money standards are maintained across the public service. The Code draws together the long-established elements of value for money arrangements that have been in place and validated over many years.
The objective of the Code is to seek to ensure that the State achieves value for money in all areas of public spending. Consequently, the Code applies to both capital and current expenditure and sets out what is required of public service managers at each point of the expenditure lifecycle as well as how to fulfil those requirements.
The Public Spending Code encompasses guidance on a variety of issues related to the management of expenditure at each stage of the expenditure lifecycle. This includes central guidance on the application of appraisal and evaluation methodologies including cost benefit analysis. This methodological guidance aims to enhance consistency across sectors through common approaches and the use of key technical parameter values needed for quantifying costs and conducting economic appraisals.
The Public Spending Code is currently under review. The review of the Public Spending Code involves economic and evaluation resources within Government Departments ensuring that the appraisal framework meets best practice and the best available advice on measuring and reporting on the costs and benefits, including their distributional impacts, associated with climate change.
Additional sectoral specific appraisal guidance has been developed in certain areas by relevant Departments, in consultation with my Department, to further detail specific approaches related to that sector. For instance, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has published the Common Appraisal Framework for Transport Projects and Programmes. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport have developed parameters and methodology for appraising the impacts on journey reliability, public transport crowding conditions, and reliability.
In parallel with and drawing on similar work being done in my Department for the Public Spending Code, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport intend to update and improve their guidance on how to carry out a multi-criteria analysis, in order to make it clearer to practitioners what is expected of this type of appraisal. They are also updating transport related parameters and will update any central and macroeconomic parameters in line with DPER guidance. More specific information on transport specific sectoral guidance is available on request from the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport. In this regard, the Deputy may also be interested in the information on appraisal available on the Department's website http://www.dttas.ie/corporate/english/appraisal.
Finally, it is expected that the updated Public Spending Code will be able to better inform public investment decisions. The updated Public Spending Code will be kept under ongoing review to ensure sound decision-making based on the best available analysis and assumptions in light of technical knowledge, best practice guidance and experience of the application of the Code in practice.
48. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the additional financial measures he will employ in 2018 to develop flood defences across the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40460/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government has committed €430m of Capital Investment in the flood risk management area over the period 2016-2021 which will see average annual expenditure rising from the current €45m to €100m by 2021. The recently completed mid-term review of the Capital Plan 2016-2021 has confirmed that allocation.
The indicated allocation of capital funding for flood risk management in the Capital Plan for 2018 is €70m. The actual allocation will be published in the Revised Estimates for Public Services after the Budget. The significantly increased allocation in 2018 will allow the continued progress of all major flood relief projects currently under construction and the anticipated commencement of construction works next year on other projects including Clonakilty, Blackpool, Glashaboy, Douglas and Lower Lee Schemes all in Cork City or County, along with other major schemes at King’s Island in Limerick and the Lower Morrell in Kildare. At the same time, the design and planning of a further 16 schemes from the current Capital Works Programme will continue with the intention that almost all of these will be implemented before the end of 2021.
It is anticipated that other structural flood relief works arising from the Flood Risk Management Plans due to be completed shortly under the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme will start to be advanced in 2018 in a prioritised manner and be brought through the detailed design, planning and construction commencement stages in the period up to 2021.
Within the overall allocation for flood risk management, the Office of Public Works will also continue in 2018 its very successful Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme where funding is provided to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems. The Scheme was reviewed this year and, under new criteria, funding for eligible projects up to €0.75m can be applied for by Local Authorities. Over 600 projects have been approved for funding since the Scheme was introduced in 2009 which has brought protection to an estimated 6,000 properties approximately.
The Government is fully committed to the programme of capital investment in the flood risk management area which will bring substantial benefit to thousands of households in the coming years throughout all parts of the country.
49. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that there is sufficient transparency, accountability and oversight in the area of top-level appointments in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40481/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, open publicly advertised competition is a key principle of senior level appointments to posts across the public service reflecting the Government's commitment to ensure that such posts, which are central to the effective performance of our system of public administration, are filled by high-calibre candidates.
In my area of direct responsibility, the civil service, recruitment in relation to senior level appointments above Principal Officer is undertaken by the Top Level Appointments Committee, TLAC. TLAC holds competitions for and advises, as appropriate, Ministers and/or the Government on appointments to civil service posts at Secretary General and Assistant Secretary and equivalent levels.
The policy on open competitions for Assistant Secretary and for Secretary General and equivalent posts has been in place since 2011.
In relation to recruitment to the wider public service, various Government Ministers, in accordance with the legislation setting up public service bodies or agencies under their aegis, are responsible for matters relating to senior appointments in those bodies.
Clearly the public interest is usually best served by opening public service posts to the widest possible pool of suitably qualified candidates.
TLAC operates under the Code of Practice issued by the Commission for Public Service Appointments in accordance with the principles of merit, consistency, accountability, probity, best practice and professional confidentiality.
TLAC operates in an independent manner and strictly on the basis of open competition and merit. TLAC is responsible for determining its own procedures and remit, subject to Government decisions as appropriate.
50. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to increase staffing levels and to ensure adequate funding for same in view of the clear connection between staff shortages and significant crises across the public sector in areas such as housing, health and, in particular, mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40480/17]
View answerThe provision for Public Service staffing numbers in 2017 is just under 315,000 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). This represents an increase of over 8,000 or 2.7% on the 2016 outturn and an increase of over 25,000 or nearly 10% on 2014.
The corresponding provision for the Exchequer pay bill in 2017 is €16.47 billion. This is an increase of approximately €850 million on the 2016 outturn and approximately €2 billion on the 2014 pay bill.
In terms of the sectors specifically highlighted by the Deputy, in the health sector, at the end of June 2017, numbers stood at just under 111,000, an increase of just under 2,000 on the 2016 outturn. In relation to the Health Service Executive, there has been significant provision of additional staff in recent years, increasing by over 11,500 or 12% since 2013, of which approximately 90% would be front-line staff. In the same period, staffing levels in the mental health service of the HSE have increased by 1,744 or nearly 20%.
Much of the staffing dedicated to the area of housing is within the Local Authority sector where staffing allocations and resources are determined by the individual Local Authorities, with appropriate oversight by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Across both the Department and the Local Authorities, nearly 30,000 staff are currently engaged.
Other Public Service staffing increases provided for in the 2017 Estimates include:
- over 2,500 in the Education Sector, including additional teachers, resource teachers and SNAs;
- an additional 500 Gardaí, and a further 500 additional civilian staff; and
- 400 additional staff in Children and Youth Affairs, including Tusla.
Allocations related to staff increases will be provided in the context of Budget 2018 and will build on the significant increase in resources that have already been committed to support increased service delivery in recent years.
The Deputy will appreciate the importance of ensuring that growth in public service numbers is achieved in a manner that supports the sustainability of both the public service pay bill and the overall fiscal position. The Government's success in this regard is evident from the figures I have set out on the increased numbers of public servants employed in priority front-line service areas against the backdrop of continued improvements in key measures of fiscal performance.
51. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he given consideration to substantial penalties for companies in receipt of public contracts that do not meet minimum standards of proper wages and conditions for their employees or that are found to be fraudulent and-or non-compliant with the law in areas such as tax, health and safety and building regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40483/17]
View answerThe enforcement of tax, social welfare, and employment legislation; health and safety, and building control regulations etc. apply equally to public and private sector contracts. Consequently, it is not for me as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to set out a separate policy for public sector contracts.
It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that contracts are awarded to compliant businesses through the standard procedures contained in the procurement process.
The public works contracts make provision for certain contractual remedies where the contractor’s or their subcontractor’s workers have not been paid in accordance with statutory requirements.
The contracts also permit deductions to be made from payments in accordance with the legislation governing taxation.
Health and Safety legislation is also underlined and enforced throughout the contract, enshrining legal requirements as conditions of contract so that serious health and safety breaches may be relied upon as breach of contract leading to termination.
Payments under the public works contracts are in arrears and for work that is certified to have been carried out in accordance with the contract’s requirements. Such requirements must have regard to the Building Regulations. Deductions may be made for non-compliant work and, depending on the nature and extent of the defect, failure to remedy same may lead to early termination.
These are in addition to the remedies contained in law which are enforced by the appropriate statutory bodies that possess the necessary powers to investigate and to bring proceedings.
52. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his Department's progress with acquiring the new site identified in recent months for Bailieboro Garda station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40147/17]
View answerThe Office of Public Works and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office continue to progress the acquisition of the site in question as a high priority and expect the process to reach a conclusion shortly.
53. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to ensure that spending priorities are sufficiently focussed in view of the threat to the economy of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40458/17]
View answerPlanning for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU poses a significant challenge, particularly given that the precise nature of the relationship that will exist between the UK and the EU is yet to be agreed. The impact of Brexit will depend on the outcome of the complex negotiations that are currently taking place.
However, Ireland’s economy is in a strong position to deal with this challenge. Economic growth has become more firmly established in recent years, and our public finances remain on a path towards sustainability. The period of 2015 to 2017 has seen an average annual increase in gross voted expenditure of 3 per cent. This means that 2017 was the third successive year in which we were able to increase expenditure on public services and infrastructure. The Summer Economic Statement, published earlier this year, set out planned average annual growth of gross voted expenditure of 3.5 per cent over the three year period 2018 to 2020.
This Government’s priority is to protect and consolidate the progress that has been made in recent years. In this context, expenditure has been allocated in 2017 to areas that may be significantly impacted by Brexit. This includes support for our agrifood industry, through continued investment towards Foodwise 2025, as well as support for our rural and regional communities through funding for the Rural Development Programme and the Action Plan for Rural Development, which was published in January. Additional resources have also been allocated this year to Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, specifically in the context of Brexit, in order to grow the number of jobs supported by our enterprise agencies.
Negotiations are still ongoing around allocations for Estimates 2018. While it would be premature to discuss any specific expenditure decisions at this time, I wish to reassure the deputy that the potential impacts of Brexit are a key feature of Budget deliberations.
In addition to expenditure measures, the Government has also put in place a number of whole-of-Government arrangements in response to Brexit, such as the Cabinet Committee chaired by the Taoiseach. We are also strengthening our relevant Departments, agencies and overseas missions to ensure that they have the necessary capacity, capability and expertise to address issues that have the potential to arise as a result of Brexit.
54. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the spending review currently taking place; the timeframe for the publishing of the review; the estimated savings to be made; the measures that will be implemented as a result of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40450/17]
View answerThe 2017 Spending Review is the first in a series of rolling, selective reviews, which will cover the totality of Government spending over a three year period to 2019. Work on the Spending Review began in January of this year and concluded in July, when I published the output of the Spending Review alongside the Mid-Year Expenditure Report. The papers prepared for the Spending Review cover a wide range of policy areas and account for a significant proportion of current expenditure. In total, 17 papers were produced by officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and other Departments. In addition, an analysis of expenditure trends in key sectors was also published. These papers are available on my Department's website at http://www.per.gov.ie/en/spending-review/
Unlike previous review processes, where the focus was on identifying spending reductions, the aim of this Spending Review process was to examine existing spending by reference to the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. This approach allows for systematic examination of existing spending programmes to assess their effectiveness in meeting policy objectives and also to identify scope for re-allocating funding to meet expenditure priorities. In this way, we can keep our focus on the totality of Government expenditure and ensure that we are achieving the best possible value for money for the taxpayer.
The spending review operates as a complementary process to the Budget Estimates process. The Spending Review was undertaken over the first half of the year in order to enable the output of the review in each area to feed into the consideration of expenditure proposals for Estimates 2018. The results of the Spending Review analysis provide a robust evidence base on key expenditure issues to inform ongoing discussions on Estimates proposals in the context of Budget 2018.
55. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Enniscorthy flood defence scheme will be addressed over the coming months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40455/17]
View answerThe River Slaney (Enniscorthy) Flood Relief Scheme is being progressed by Wexford County Council in conjunction with and funded by the Office of Public Works.
Good progress is being made in advancing the Scheme and a significant amount of the necessary preparatory work to inform the detailed design of the scheme has been carried out to date.
A Public Information Day is planned to be held in Q1 2018, outlining the current design of the scheme, and, at this point, it is anticipated that the Scheme will be ready to go to tender and to be submitted for Confirmation or formal Ministerial approval in Q2 2018. Subject to formal Confirmation of the Scheme by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform it is hoped to commence construction in late 2018 or early 2019.
56. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of his officials that are gender-, equality- and carbon-proofing budget 2018; the extent to which these examinations with relevant costings are taken into account before the finalisation of the budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40176/17]
View answerResponsibility for proofing policy proposals as referenced in the Deputy's questions is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant individual spending Departments, as appropriate, in developing proposals for submission to my Department in connection with the Estimates process. In advance of the finalisation of the Estimates for 2018, officials in my Department are currently assessing the expenditure and budgetary implications of a broad range of proposals submitted by Departments related to Government policy objectives such as, for example, advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights.
The Deputy may wish to note that in response to the commitment regarding Equality Budgeting included in the Programme for Government and in the context of preparation for Estimates 2018 substantial work has been undertaken by my Department, in consultation with key stakeholders in relation to the appropriate approach to gender budgeting. This project is based on international best practice and linked to the performance budgeting initiative incorporated in the Revised Estimates Volume.
In terms of carbon proofing, ultimately, each Department is responsible for ensuring their spending programmes are consistent with whole-of-Government priorities such as environmental sustainability. Consequently, my Department has requested that all submissions to the current review of the Capital Plan, from both Government Departments and the Public, examine all potential impacts - both positive and negative – of capital proposals in the context of meeting Ireland's existing and forthcoming Climate and Energy goals. My Department also made clear that proposals for additional capital spending should be aligned with the upcoming National Mitigation Plan and National Adaption Framework.
It is important to stress that there is a detailed governance framework already embedded in the allocation of capital resources through which significant investment decisions must be aligned with all government policies, including environmental policy. The review of the Capital Plan will, therefore, ensure that resources continue to be allocated and aligned to support sustainable growth, as required under the Government's current policy framework.
57. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the type of cost-benefit analysis that will be applied to the additional tax expenditures or new public spending which are being proposed to support business here in the context of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40417/17]
View answerDiscussions and negotiations around Budget 2018 are ongoing and there are guidelines in place for evaluation of all proposals.
Guidelines for the appraisal of spending projects and programmes are set out in the Public Spending Code (PSC). The PSC sets out the rules and procedures that maintain Value for Money standards across the public service. The PSC highlights the appraisal requirements for projects and programmes and provides central guidance on the application and evaluation methodologies including Cost Benefit Analysis. The aim of this methodological guidance is to ensure consistency of approach across sectors.
Similarly, the Department of Finance has strict guidelines for tax expenditure evaluation, the most recent of which were published in 2014 (2014 Guidelines for Tax Expenditure Evaluation). These guidelines are informed by international best practice and represent the evaluation framework that the Department uses in considering proposals for a new tax expenditure or in reviewing an existing measure. The evaluation questions contained in the guidelines are now applied to proposals for new tax reliefs (ex-ante evaluation) and to existing tax expenditures (ex-post evaluation).
Examples of the ex-ante evaluation questions include identifying the market failure the tax expenditure is thought to address, the tax expenditure’s likely economic impact and its expected costs. Examples of the ex-post evaluation questions include identifying its actual cost, its actual economic impact and its continued relevance. For tax expenditures with an annual cost of more than €50 million, the Guidelines provide for the undertaking of a cost-benefit analysis.
I can assure the Deputy that my officials are engaged in ongoing discussions with other Departments regarding the potential impacts of Brexit and how they might be best addressed. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in developing measures to support business through Brexit, engages in extensive stakeholder consultation and review of relevant research to build a strong understanding of the needs of businesses. This work is carried out in collaboration with bodies such as SBCI, Department of Finance, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. In carrying out this work it is, of course, a priority to ensure that proposals for new measures are robust and can be assessed to deliver their objectives on a value-for-money basis.
58. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the public expenditure envelope allowed for in the existing fiscal space is adequate to meet the needs and demands for key areas of infrastructure and crucial public services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40482/17]
View answerI should first explain the context behind the fiscal rules, to the extent that it relates to capital spending.
Substantial progress has been made in restoring Ireland’s public finances as reflected in Ireland’s movement from the corrective to the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact from the beginning of 2016.
The core element of the Preventive Arm is the Medium-Term Budgetary Objective (MTO), which is a fiscal target based on the structural rather than the actual or headline government budget balance. This structural target is measured using the difference between government income and expenditure after one-off and cyclical elements of the public finances are accounted for.
In addition to the Structural Budget Balance (SBB) requirement, the Expenditure Benchmark comprises the second pillar of the Preventive Arm. This is designed to assist Member States to reach or maintain their MTO by putting a limit on expenditure growth year-on-year. Ireland is now required to limit expenditure growth in line with the medium term potential growth rate of the economy.
The Government’s policy objective is to achieve Ireland’s MTO of a SBB of -0.5% in 2018 and further improvements in the headline General Government Balance (GBB) and SBB in the years ahead in order to strengthen the resilience of Ireland’s public finances against external shocks such as Brexit.
Following the onset of the economic and fiscal crisis there was a major retrenchment in public capital investment. This is now being reversed. An additional €5.14 billion in Exchequer capital investment was originally committed in the 2016 Summer Economic Statement (SES) over the period of the Capital Plan 2016 – 2021, with a further €1.5 billion committed in the 2017 SES.
Allowing for the €2.2 billion of additional investment that the Government has already decided will be allocated for housing to support the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness and other commitments already made in Budget 2017, the Government has substantial additional Exchequer capital funding amounting to €4.1 billion to allocate over the four years 2018 - 2021 for increased public investment in Budget 2018, based on the assessment contained in the recently published review of the Capital Plan. As confirmed by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, this will see public investment in Ireland moving from relatively low levels to among the highest in the EU.
I am satisfied that this new planned level of capital investment represents an appropriate balance between the need for additional investment, the capacity of the economy to deliver additional public infrastructure consistent with fiscal and macroeconomic sustainability and the need to adhere to the responsible spending path agreed by Government with reference to the requirements of the EU Fiscal Rules.
59. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he expects to publish the revised capital plan; and if the plan once published will be finalised or if it will be open for revision. [40453/17]
View answerI assume the Deputy is referring to the proposed National Investment Plan, which will set out key priority themes for public capital investment for the period 2018 to 2027, in support of the forthcoming National Planning Framework. The National Investment Plan will mark the culmination of an extensive deliberative process conducted by my Department in the course of this year, under the Mid Term Capital Review. I published the results of this Review on Thursday 14 September 2017.
The Review draws on an evidence base that includes detailed submissions by Departments and Offices, an extensive public consultation, as well as an Infrastructure Capacity and Demand Analysis completed by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
I intend to convene a consultative forum in the coming weeks, to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to comments on the outputs from the Mid Term Review and contribute to the framing of the National Investment Plan.
Following this consultative process, it is currently intended to publish the National Investment Plan in tandem with the publication of the National Planning Framework by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government before the end of the year. As is the case for any long-term plan or strategy, it will of course be important for the Government's capital expenditure objectives set out in the National Investment Plan to be responsive to significant changes in the overall environment for public capital investment in the future.
60. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress on his Department's discussions with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection regarding the implementation of Labour Court recommendation, LRC 19293, regarding the rights of community employment scheme supervisors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40448/17]
View answerThe Community Sector High Level Forum was reconvened in 2015 and met most recently on 7 April 2017, to give consideration to a number of issues including the issue to which the Deputy refers.
In considering the matter, I must have regard to the costs and precedent of such an arrangement were one to be created. A scoping exercise is currently being progressed by officials in my Department and should be completed later this year.
It continues to be the position that state organisations are not the employer of the particular employees concerned and that it is not possible for the State to provide funding for such a scheme. The employees in question are, or were, employees of private companies notwithstanding the fact that the companies concerned are, or were, reliant on State funding.
61. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Taoiseach the number of companies that operate here that do not trade goods or services here. [40611/17]
View answerThe Central Statistics Office (CSO) does not compile separate statistics on the number of companies that do not trade in goods or services in Ireland. Under current EU statistical legislation, holding companies (NACE category 64.20) are excluded from Business Demography statistics due to the complexities of such analysis.
