Written Answers Nos. 293-313
293. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress of the review into the national lottery good causes awards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9196/22]
View answerFunding raised by the National Lottery plays a very important role in supporting a range of good causes at national, regional and community level. In order to sustain this funding into the future I consider it important that there be robust and transparent processes for its allocation.
Accordingly in 2021, I commissioned an external review of the process for allocation of lottery funding, to examine the current system, and to identify any principles which might underpin a new process of allocation. The review will also draw on international practice and is scheduled to conclude in the second quarter of 2022.
294. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of State agencies or organisations under the aegis of his Department that are operating under pre-1995 Civil Service salary scales. [9245/22]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. I am advised that the Office of the National Lottery Regulator currently has no staff members that were recruited before 6th April 1995.
|
- |
Number of staff currently employed |
Number of current staff recruited before 6th April 1995 |
|
Office of Public Works |
853 |
206 |
|
National Shared Services Office |
767 |
91 |
|
Public Appointments Service |
234 |
30 |
|
State Laboratory |
108* |
18 |
|
Office of the Ombudsman |
140 |
28 |
* Inclusive of 5 staff members on placement
295. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason that his Department did not maintain its lead funding role for an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9425/22]
View answerThe Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) has provided grant funding to Benefacts since 2015. The project was funded as a pathfinder initiative in the area of data analytics on the non-profit sector. Benefacts was initially co-funded with philanthropy, however in recent years the Department has been providing the majority of funding to the entity.
In 2019, DPER received an independent report which it commissioned to provide analysis of the market for data on the non-profit sector. This report examined, inter alia, issues around the demand for the data concerned; methodologies and technologies used; the potential for direct provision by the State of these services itself, and; the maturity of the market to provide these services efficiently. On foot of this report, DPER undertook a review in 2020 which found that the business case for its continued funding of Benefacts was no longer justified and accordingly the decision was made to terminate funding. This decision was notified to the Chairperson of the Board of Benefacts and other relevant stakeholders from June 2020.
Recognising that other public service bodies with direct policy involvement in the not-for-profit sector may have wished to consider whether they had an appreciable business case to continue funding Benefacts, my Department agreed to fund the initiative up to the end of 2021. This provision was made to facilitate relevant public service bodies to consider their position and to assess all of the options in relation to their respective business needs concerning data on the not-for-profit sector.
In April 2021, my Department reaffirmed its 2020 decision to all of the parties concerned. Furthermore, in acknowledgment of the impact of Covid19 on this deliberative process, DPER sanctioned a final three month extension of funding to Benefacts up to the 31st March 2022. As of February 2022, no department or agency has identified a significant business need to continue to avail of and provide funding to the service.
The factors influencing the original decision from 2020 have not changed materially and, consequently, the decision of this Department to terminate funding remains unaltered.
My officials are continuing to work closely with the staff and Board of Benefacts to ensure that all necessary requirements under the funding agreement will be met, including those which may arise under a wind-up scenario.
296. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps that are being taken to ensure that there is financial accountability and transparency in the funding provided by Government to the non-governmental sector including all registered charities, education institutions, social enterprises and sports and professional bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9426/22]
View answerThe requirements for the management of grant funding provided from public monies is governed by Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds. This circular focuses on transparency, accountability and value for money and details the responsibilities of those issuing and receiving grants.
The financial management principles, procedures and additional reporting requirements outlined in Circular 13/2014 apply to all grant funding originating from the Exchequer. The provisions of Circular 13/2014 apply to the movement of funds from a Vote to an outside body, and to any/all onward movements of that funding. The objective is to ensure that all Exchequer funds, regardless of the method of distribution, are accounted for and properly managed.
The circular sets out details of the responsibilities of both grantor and grantee organisations. This includes, for instance, clarity on the objectives of the funding, details in respect of financial reporting and requirements in respect of audit.
297. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount that his Department has paid for advertising, features and so on in a magazine (details supplied). [9580/22]
View answer301. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has won any award from a publication (details supplied); if so, when this award was won; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9838/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 297 and 301 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that since 1st January 2013 my Department has made one payment to the named publication. The details and the purpose of this payment by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), which is part of my Department, is set out in the following table.
I wish to also confirm to the Deputy that my Department (including the OGP) has not been the recipient of any awards from the named publication.
|
Date |
Type of Feature |
Purpose |
Cost |
|
May 2014 |
Informational advertisement |
Information for the Public Sector on the National Electronic Tendering Platform (eTenders) |
€1,045 |
298. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of architects in the OPW, broken down by grade and pay scale, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9766/22]
View answerThe grade and pay-scale of all OPW architectural grades is contained in the following table.
|
Grade |
- |
Nos. |
|
Administrative Officer |
ARCHITECT - PPC |
41 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
ARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANT GRADE 1 |
8 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
ARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANT GRADE 1 PPC |
3 |
|
Executive Officer |
ARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANT GRADE 2 PPC |
7 |
|
Principal Officer |
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT |
3 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT 2012 |
1 |
|
Assistant Principal |
SENIOR ARCHITECT |
3 |
|
Assistant Principal |
SENIOR ARCHITECT - PPC |
34 |
|
100 |
Note: In additional the OPW provides opportunities for Graduate Architects and utilises contractors as required.
299. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of engineers in the OPW, broken down by grade, pay scale and category, that is, civil, mechanical, chemical and electrical, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9767/22]
View answerThe grade and pay-scale of all OPW engineering grades is contained in the following table.
OPW does not employ any chemical engineers.
|
Grade |
Payscale |
Number employed at 14.02.2022 |
|
Principal Officer |
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER OPW |
7 |
|
Assistant Principal |
ENGINEER GRADE 1 CIVIL |
1 |
|
Assistant Principal |
ENGINEER GRADE 1 CIVIL - PPC |
16 |
|
Assistant Principal |
ENGINEER GRADE 2 CIVIL - PPC |
61 |
|
Administrative Officer |
ENGINEER GRADE 3 CIVIL - PPC |
32 |
|
Assistant Principal |
ENGINEERING GRADE 1 MECH/HEATI |
9 |
|
Assistant Principal |
ENGINEER GRADE 2 MECH/HEATING/ |
4 |
|
Administrative Officer |
ENGINEER GRADE 3 MECH/HEATING/ |
14 |
|
Administrative Officer |
ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN GRADE 1 |
10 |
|
Administrative Officer |
ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN GRADE 1 PPC |
1 |
|
Executive Officer |
ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN GRADE 2 |
6 |
|
Executive Officer |
SENIOR ENGINEERING DRAUGHTSPER |
2 |
|
163 |
300. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the civilian ministerial drivers; if they have been redeployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9769/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware from my appearance before the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on 2 February last, certain Civilian Drivers have been replaced with Garda officers following a security review recommendation from the Garda Commissioner to the Minister for Justice. I have given careful consideration to the unique situation that now arises for this cadre of Civilian Drivers that have been displaced through no fault of their own given that the respective term of their contractual appointment was to be co-terminus with term of the relevant Minister, noting that many may have left jobs to take on the role of Civilian Driver. Displaced Civilian Drivers who have not been appointed by way of secondment or leave of absence from other employment, as an alternative to standard severance terms at this time, have the opportunity to consider an offer of potential redeployment as Temporary Clerical Officers in the civil service for a period co-terminus with the Minister that they were originally assigned to as a Driver. Officials in my Department are at this time working with the relevant Local HR Units in providing the Drivers concerned with the details of such arrangements.
302. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he uses an application on his official Government telephone; if so, if he has the disappearing messages setting activated on the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9965/22]
View answerIn response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that WhatsApp is installed on my departmental phone. I do not use the application for official purposes nor have I activated the disappearing messages setting.
303. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the rules that are in place for carrying over annual leave respectively in the Civil Service and the wider public services; if any arrangements have been put in place to ensure that persons can carryover unused days of annual leave that have not been used due to the impact of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9996/22]
View answerAs the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have responsibility for the non-pay terms and conditions of civil servants and therefore I can only comment in respect of the annual leave arrangements that apply in the Civil Service.
Circular 27/2003: Annual Leave sets out the standard rules in relation to the taking of annual leave in the Civil Service. The Civil Service currently operates a 3 year carryover rule in relation to accrued annual leave. Under this rule, any untaken statutory leave may be carried forward from Year 1 to Year 2 with the employees consent and taken within the first six months of Year 2. Any untaken leave that exceeds the statutory minimum allowance (4 working weeks) may be carried forward from Cycle Year 1 to Cycle Year 2.
Staff who are in Cycle year 2 can carry over any untaken statutory leave from Year 2 to Year 3 with the employees consent and taken within the first six months of Year . Any untaken leave that exceeds the statutory minimum allowance (4 working weeks) may be carried forward from Cycle Year 2 to Cycle Year 3.
For staff who are in Cycle year 3, carryover of annual leave at the end of the third year of the annual leave cycle is limited to the difference (if any) between the statutory minimum annual leave allowance (4 working weeks) and the officer’s untaken annual leave in excess of the statutory minimum which has been accrued during the third year of the cycle only. Any untaken leave over and above this difference will be forfeited.
Due to the unprecedented circumstances of the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 and the various associated business challenges at the time, a special arrangement was put in place for officers to remain in their cycle year i.e. at March 31st 2020 (the end of the leave year) to allow additional time to avail of their annual leave during the 2020/21 annual leave year. For equity reasons, a similar ‘roll back’ was applied to all staff in each of the different leave calendars (as certain civil service organisations have differing leave years). The associated issuing of communications and system updates for these 'roll backs' were processed by the National Shared Services Office (NSSO).
In 2021, a second roll back was implemented for all staff to allow more time for those in cycle year 3 to use the build up of annual leave that had been created in the system and also for clear advance notice to be given that there was no intention of any further rollbacks.
The NSSO issued a communication to all staff at the beginning of July 2021 to advise staff that it was not intended that there would be any further rolling back of the leave cycle years and advising all staff to discuss with their line managers how leave was to be used over the course of the year. This communication also reinforced to all staff of the importance of taking annual leave for health and wellbeing purposes.
In recent weeks, a reminder issued to all civil servants (of the previous communication that issued in July 2021), to advise staff who are in Leave Year 3 with outstanding leave to avail of, that they should discuss with their line managers how this is to be utilised.
Further to this, in acknowledgement of the possibility that there may be staff who were not in a position to use their leave due to the business impact of the pandemic in some areas of the civil service during the past year, communications issued to all civil service employers and staff that on this occasion only, local flexibility may be provided where appropriate, outside of the NSSO system, to allow for outstanding leave of those staff in cycle year 3 to be used beyond the end of the current annual leave year, in line with business requirements.
304. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she or her advisers or staff and-or the Minister of State with special responsibility for sport and-or their advisers or staff provided any information on the 2022 sports capital allocations to any other Ministers and-or their advisers or staff, to other TDs and-or their staff and Senators or their staff prior to their publication on the www.gov.ie website on11 February 2022; and if so, if she or the Minister of State will provide details of whom they provided this information to, the format in which it was provided and when it was provided. [9050/22]
View answer305. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she or her advisers or staff and-or the Minister of State with special responsibility for sport and-or their advisers or staff ever used private communications methods such as private email or an application (details supplied) to communicate with anyone during any period over the past two years in relation to the 2022 sports capital funding awards, the prospect of individual clubs potential success in being awarded a grant or the process by which funding was being awarded. [9051/22]
View answer306. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the date on which she or her advisers or her staff were given details of any successful sports capital applications for the 2022 round of funding; the format in which she received these details; and the person they received the details from. [9069/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 304 to 306, inclusive, together.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.1 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The 2020 round of the Programme closed for applications on 1 March 2021. By this date, 3,106 applications had been submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.
The scoring system and assessment procedures were finalised and published prior to assessment work commencing and all applications were assessed in accordance with these procedures. The full scoring system and assessment procedures can be viewed at the following link: www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie/ and the final grant decisions were made in accordance with the scoring system.
Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6m were announced on 6 August 2021. The remaining capital applications were then assessed.
Following the conclusion of the assessment process by the Sports Capital Division of my Department, a submission which included a spreadsheet setting out the final set of recommended grants was sent to Minister Martin and me on 10 February. As is the norm for grant announcements, the full set of approved grants was sent on the morning of 11 February to the Press Offices of the three Government parties in advance of the publication of all grants on the Gov.ie website later that day.
The vast majority of all communications with regard to the SCEP, or any other official business for that matter, within and from my office is done through in person briefings and meetings, official Department email accounts and electronic submissions. Private email is not used in this regard and, while communication applications are used on occasion for reasons of expediency no sensitive material is circulated using such methods.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme is important to thousands of communities throughout the country and I receive regular representations on the Programme. I am always willing to engage with interested parties on the programme given its huge benefits for so many people, communities and clubs. These queries include contacts from Ministers, Ministers of States, Oireachtas members of all parties and their staff or advisers as well as other elected representatives and applicants. Where updates are sought on an application over the course of the round of the SCEP from Oireachtas members, staff or advisers, my office endeavours to provide the factual position at that point in time.
An overall package of €150 million in new capital grants under the 2020 round of the SCEP was announced on 11 February, a record allocation under the programme. €144 million was allocated to almost 1,900 applications with €6 million kept in reserve for successful appeals lodged by unsuccessful applicants. The record allocation reflects the government’s ongoing support to sport as the sector emerges from the challenges of the past two years. It reflects the funding challenges facing clubs across the country, the unprecedented number of applications received and the vital role that sport plays in supporting community and individual wellbeing, a role that came into sharp focus during the pandemic.
307. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the amount of film board funding that has been issued for development grants and production grants in 2021. [9137/22]
View answerAs Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, I allocate funding to Screen Ireland, the development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. The allocation for 2021 to Screen Ireland was made up of €3.893m in current funding and the balance of €26.2m in capital funding.
Screen Ireland is statutorily independent and I have no say in funding decisions. The provisional figures for Screen Ireland loans provided in 2021 are set out in the table.
|
Category |
Number |
Value |
|
Production |
86 |
€14.36M |
|
Development |
145 |
€ 4.78M |
308. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the reason an organisation (details supplied) was not successful in obtaining funding; when the next round of the funding programme will open; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9415/22]
View answer309. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the appeals process will be open for those that were unsuccessful on the sports capital programme announcement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9500/22]
View answer310. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when new applications will be accepted for sports capital funding 2022. [9501/22]
View answer311. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if an application for funding under the sports capital programme will be reviewed and the appeal process outlined for a club (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [9502/22]
View answer312. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if an application for funding under the sports capital programme will be reviewed and the appeal process outlined for a club (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [9503/22]
View answer313. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if an application for funding under the sports capital programme will be reviewed and the appeal process outlined for a club (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and the reason it did not receive funding. [9504/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 308 to 313, inclusive, together.
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.1 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The 2020 round of the Programme closed for applications on 1 March 2021. By this date, 3,106 applications had been submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.
The scoring system and assessment procedures were finalised and published prior to assessment work commencing and all applications were assessed in accordance with these procedures. All of the improvements which were introduced for recent rounds of the Programme to make the process as user-friendly as possible were maintained for this round. This included giving applicants a second chance to submit corrected documentation. The full scoring system and assessment procedures can be viewed at the following link: www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie/.
Approximately one thousand of the submitted applications were for 'equipment-only' projects. These applications were assessed first and grants with a total value of €16.6m were announced on 6 August 2021. The remaining capital applications were then assessed and 1,865 individual grant offers with a total value of over €143.8m were announced on Friday 11 February 2022.
My Department will be in touch directly with all applicants to notify them of the outcome of their applications. Where relevant, this will include details of why applications were deemed invalid. All such unsuccessful applicants will have the opportunity to appeal the Department's decision and full details of the appeals procedure will issue to these applicants shortly.
When the appeals process is complete, a full review of the 2020 round of the SCEP will be undertaken and any recommendations contained therein will be included in the terms and conditions of the next round. The precise timing of this next round of the Programme will be announced once this review is complete.
