Written Answers Nos. 71-83
73. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects his Department to be in a position to approve projects in the capital programme that are most likely to have immediate and positive impact by way of addressing infrastructural deficits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2598/18]
View answer74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to be in a position to approve capital expenditure in the health services with particular reference to the augmentation of the bed complement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2599/18]
View answer75. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to be in a position to make strategic approvals in the capital programme to address requirements in the health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2600/18]
View answer76. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to be in a position to make strategic approvals in the capital programme to address infrastructural deficits in road and rail services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2601/18]
View answer77. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to be in a position to address issues such as strategic road and bridge improvements in the capital programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2602/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 73 to 77, inclusive, together.
As I announced at Budget 2018, Government has allocated significant increases in public capital investment amounting to €4.3 billion over the period 2018-2021. This was in addition to the additional €2.2 billion for housing already allocated prior to that for the implementation of the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. These funding allocations were, inter alia, intended to address bottlenecks and infrastructural deficits, informed and advised by the detailed analysis and assessment carried out in the context of the recent review of the 2015 capital plan Building on Recovery which I published in September.
Consequently, between 2014 and 2021, public capital expenditure in Ireland will have more than doubled and as set out by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, this will see public investment in Ireland moving to amongst the highest in the EU.
I am satisfied that this new planned level of public capital investment represents an appropriate balance between the need for additional investment to realise the economy's long-term growth potential, 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.
Work is currently at an advanced stage by my Department in preparing a new long-term 10-year capital plan covering the period 2018-2027. The primary objective of the new 10-year plan is to underpin the implementation of the new National Planning Framework for spatial policy under the Ireland 2040 Plan. The assessment of priorities for public capital investment over that period will also be strongly informed by the detailed Infrastructure Capacity and Demand Analysis prepared by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), as part of the recent review of the 2015 capital plan, which assessed key drivers of infrastructure demand in a number of areas such as housing, health, transport and education. The Infrastructure Capacity and Demand analysis was published alongside the review of the current capital plan and is available on my Department's website.
I would hope that the new 10-year capital plan will be considered by Government in the near future, with decisions on capital allocations in support of the various sectoral investment plans then being made in due course. I should point out, however, that responsibility for the selection and approval of individual infrastructure project proposals to be progressed in each sector, such as road or rail projects in transport or hospital capacity increases in health, are a matter in the first instance for the relevant sectoral Minister and his or her Department - subject to compliance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code in relation to planning, assessment and appraisal of project proposals in the normal way - rather than for my Department.
78. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the degree to which he expects to be in a position to address deficiencies in the development of the alternative energy sector in the capital programme having particular regard to the need to address issues of national and international concern such as carbon reduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2603/18]
View answerI should first explain that both the development of the energy sector and formulation of policy on climate action is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
What I can say is that the review of the capital plan, published last September, concluded that public capital investment is key to supporting the radical societal transformation required to achieve a low carbon and climate resilient economy by 2050.
Investment choices have already been informed by this assessment. In Budget 2018, on the basis of the review undertaken, an additional €200 million in capital expenditure was allocated to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment for the period to 2021. This will allow for a step change in efforts to achieve Ireland’s energy efficiency targets and renewable energy objectives, in the context of moving towards a low carbon economy.
Building on the analysis contained in the review, the new 10 year capital plan which is currently being finalised is intended to be a key mechanism to secure climate action objectives.
The fundamental purpose of the 10 year capital plan is to enable the implementation of the new National Planning Framework (NFP) detailed in the Ireland 2040 Plan. Securing environmental sustainability is a key theme running through all element of the new spatial policy set out in the NPF.
The funding of energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes will play a key role in seeking to meet climate change and energy targets as well as reducing expenditure on imported fossil fuels, underpinning domestic energy sector employment and reducing emissions from our annual energy usage.
As well as Exchequer investment, the commercial State sector as part of the Capital Plan also undertakes investment in renewables, including biomass and forestry, in order to support the delivery of Government's objectives in these areas.
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. All Departments are responsible for ensuring projects meet with the appropriate regulatory requirements including environmental impact assessments.
79. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full extent to date of recruitment throughout the public sector in the context of economic recovery; the expectation in respect of future recruitments throughout the sector by the end of 2018 and thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2604/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, in my role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have overarching responsibility for workforce planning in and recruitment to the Civil Service.
In Budget 2015, it was announced that there will be a targeted programme of recruitment into the Civil Service to address service needs and a shortfall in key skills commencing in late 2014 and continuing. The Deputy will be aware that a number of open competitions have already taken place or are in the process of taking place for recruitment to the Civil Service.
I understand from the Public Appointments Service, who are the independent recruiter for the civil service, that since the lifting of the moratorium, approximately 7,100 civil servants from open competitions excluding temporary assignments and professional and technical posts, have been assigned to Government departments and offices across all general service grades.
In the Civil Service in 2017, competitions for Clerical Officer, Administrative Officer, Higher Executive Officer, Third Secretary and Principal Officer have taken place.
It is too early to say at this stage what competitions may be held in 2018. Factors such as the demand from Departments/offices from existing panels, consequential vacancies arising, retirements and defined skill demands will influence decisions to hold competitions and these are currently being assessed.
81. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the degree to which his Department continues to monitor the impact of Brexit on the public and private sectors here with a view to addressing issues arising in the context of public expenditure and reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2606/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, a whole of Government approach is being adopted to addressing the challenges posed by Brexit. My Department is playing a full part in responding to those challenges.
The risks arising from Brexit are reflected in the Government’s National Risk Assessment, which identifies areas where Brexit poses a specific risk, particularly in relation to the economy. This approach is reflected in my own Department’s Statement of Strategy for 2016-2019 and also in its Risk Register.
A dedicated Brexit/EU/North South Unit is responsible for coordinating the response to Brexit across the Department and it plays a full role in the cross-Department structures that support the work of the Government.
Policy decisions in support of the Government's approach to Brexit will arise across a wide range of areas, including the annual budgetary process; the National Planning Framework 2040; the new 10-year National Capital Plan; the Review of Enterprise 2025 Policy, and sectoral policies and investment decisions in areas such as agriculture, enterprise, transport, communications and energy.
82. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons that have left the public service in each of the past five years to date either by way of retirement or redundancy; the extent to which the national pay bill has been affected as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2607/18]
View answerThis Department only holds data in relation to the civil service, data in respect of the public service would require individual requests to each Department and public service body.
In the civil service over the period 2012-2017 there were 5,412 retirements for a variety of reasons including normal age retirement, ill health and voluntary early retirement.
The data available doesn't specifically identify redundancies (as opposed to resignations or contract expiration) but redundancies are not considered to be a feature of civil service employment.
It is important to understand that retirements and other exits from public service employment represent normal job churn below the line. Above the line recruitment of additional public servants, particularly in Health and Education, has been the primary driver of increases in the public service pay bill over the last five years. Between Q1 2012 and Q3 2017 over 22,500 additional public servants have been added to public service.
Full facts and figures can be found on the public service databank: http://databank.per.gov.ie/Public_Service_Numbers.aspx?rep=VG.
83. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the State has contracts with a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2634/18]
View answerContracts are put in place by individual contracting authorities. An analysis of contract award notices, both at national and European level, published on the Office of Government Procurement’s national electronic tendering platform, eTenders, shows no contract award information for the company whose details were supplied by the Deputy. However, companies may trade through a subsidiary or as part of a consortium and it could be for this reason that there are no data entries in respect of this company.
