Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
54. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the issue of value for money in large capital projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11731/22]
View answerThe question relates to value for money on large capital projects. Will the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform report on that with respect to the new national children's hospital and the national maternity hospital, for example?
I thank the Deputy very much for her question and wish the Leas-Cheann Comhairle a good evening. The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the national development plan, NDP, published last October. Our annual capital investment budget as a percentage of national income is now among the largest in the EU. In 2022, almost €12 billion is available to spend on vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action. There are at least 50 proposals in the Exchequer-funded element of the NDP that would be considered major public capital projects, that is, Exchequer-funded projects with an estimated cost in excess of €100 million.
It is vital that value for money is achieved in implementing this ambitious public capital investment programme. The revised NDP pledges to restructure the oversight and implementation of capital projects to strengthen scrutiny of major public investment proposals and drive improved project performance and value for money. The first step in ensuring value for money was taken in the NDP itself. The programmes included in the plan have been subject to high-level prioritisation and assessment of compatibility with critical Government priorities such as housing, climate action and balanced regional prosperity. In addition, the work my Department is engaged in through the construction sector group will help develop the capacity of the industry and improve value for money in contracting.
My Department is responsible for the public spending code, PSC, that sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister.
The Deputy will be familiar with some key reforms that I have introduced to the oversight of major capital projects, for example, the new external assurance process, which is now up and running, and the new major projects advisory group, which I am pleased to report is also up and running and contributing to the assessment of projects.
Value for money is important and many people have concerns when there are large capital overruns. When the Secretary General of the Department of Health appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts recently, he would not be drawn on the final cost of the children's hospital. One member of the committee suggested that it could be close to €2.2 billion. The Minister will be aware that this is an issue of major concern to people. Is that suggested figure much closer to the final one than the official figure of €1.7 billion that we have been hearing about for some time? Last month, the Irish Examiner revealed that almost 1,000 legal claims with a value of €542 million had been taken by the main contractor. It is time that the public were aware of the revised estimate of the final cost for the children's hospital. Will the Minister update the House with a more accurate figure?
It is important to underline what my role is as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in capital budgets. I am responsible for setting the overall multi-annual capital expenditure ceilings for each ministerial Vote group as set out in the national development plan, NDP, and Project Ireland 2040. We are also responsible for maintaining the national frameworks that Departments operate in to ensure appropriate accounting for, and value for money in, public expenditure, for example, under the public spending code. Individual Ministers and the relevant Accounting Officers retain direct line responsibility for individual projects.
Regarding the national children's hospital, as a result of the lessons from that project and the PwC review into the escalation of costs therein, a number of key reforms that I have referenced have been put in place. I am pleased that those reforms are being put into practice in the assessment of major capital projects under the NDP.
I welcome the reforms that the Minister has introduced and I understand his role in this matter, but as he can imagine, people look at him as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and query such issues, which are of considerable concern to many. We have seen cost overruns for quite some time. There are a number of examples: the national road improvement works had an estimated cost of €7 billion but its final cost was €15.5 billion, representing a cost overrun of approximately 125% while the Luas green line cross-city extension had an estimated cost of €358 million but its final cost was €991 million, representing a cost overrun of 176%.
The Minister stated that lessons had been learned and reforms had been put in place. While that is important, this is an issue of significant concern to people and particular focus needs to be given to it. The cost of the national maternity hospital has increased from €400 million to something much higher.
I have been in my current role for the past 20 months. In that time, I have instituted significant reforms in the management and oversight of major public capital investment projects. This has been necessary because we have a record budget this year of approximately €12 billion for the NDP and new procedures are essential. They have been introduced to improve project outturns, avoid cost overruns and avoid schedule delays.
The Deputy will be aware that, when it came to putting the major projects advisory group in place, I put it out to an open public competition. I am pleased with the calibre of people who have come through the process and are now directly involved in advising my Department. They are doing so quickly – a short number of weeks – in respect of key projects.
Investing these resources up front in the rigorous assessment of projects will prevent problems down the line. I have put those reforms in place.
55. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of, and specific timeline for, his decision on the Enniscorthy flood defence scheme proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10961/22]
View answerThe flooding disaster that affected the county of Wexford last Christmas, particularly in Enniscorthy and Bridgetown among many other areas, made people homeless for a short time and put Wexford County Council workers, other rescue workers and many businesses at risk. In that context, I wish to ask about the specific timeline for the Minister's decision on the Enniscorthy flood defence scheme proposal.
On behalf of the Office of Public Works, OPW, which does a great deal of work with Wexford County Council on the issue of flooding, I wish to take this opportunity to extend my sympathies and those of the OPW to the family of the late Billy Kinsella, his wife, Rita, and his son, Conor, on his recent passing. He was working in the aftermath of a recent storm. Wexford County Council has worked hand in glove with the OPW during many of the storms that that part of the country has faced.
I thank the Deputy for her question on the much-needed Enniscorthy flood relief scheme. The scheme is being progressed by Wexford County Council on behalf of the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995. This is a scheme within the OPW's €1.3 billion flood relief investment programme nationally as part of the NDP, from which the relevant funding for the Enniscorthy scheme will be made available. On completion, the scheme will protect 236 properties in the town. The proposed scheme includes river channel widening, river deepening, bridge relocation and the construction of extensive glass-panelled flood walls through the town. The estimated total budget will be approximately €51 million, including VAT, when other costs such as fees, site investigation works, environmental mitigation, property-landowner compensation and future maintenance costs are taken into consideration. The scheme is going through the confirmation process under the Arterial Drainage Acts following submission to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for assessment in mid-2020.
It is important to note that, under section 7E of the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Arterial Drainage) Regulations 2019, the Minister can make a number of decisions: make an order confirming the scheme; refuse to confirm the scheme; or refer the scheme back to the Commissioners of the OPW for revision in specified respects.
I will conclude the rest of my reply shortly.
I appreciate the Minister of State's response and that he came to Enniscorthy over the Christmas period. I also wish to pay my respects to Billy Kinsella and his family. He was the unfortunate county council worker who lost his life during the recent storm.
My question was not for the Minister of State. It was actually for the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath. During the Minister of State's visit to Enniscorthy, he told us that the decision lay with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My question, which was for the Minister, was on when he would sign off on the requisite money. The answer that I have just received from the Minister of State is the exact same response I received to a parliamentary question on 25 January. The issue for me is that we keep getting the same answer.
Independent Councillor Jackser Owens has raised this matter a number of times. Clarity is required. When will the €51 million be made available?
As I made clear at a meeting convened by the chairman of the Enniscorthy municipal district of Wexford County Council, Councillor Cathal Byrne, and as the Deputy will have heard on the quays in Enniscorthy alongside the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, and others, this is not a question of money, so it is not fair to refer to it as such on the floor of the Dáil. The Deputy and other public representatives heard me say that this had to do with a planning process. I have outlined in the Dáil once again that the Minister has three options available to him under a planning process that is laid out in the Arterial Drainage Acts. The Minister must have regard to the Acts when deliberating and making decisions and it would not be appropriate for me or the OPW to interfere in any way with that process.
When I am asked a question as Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, it is important that I would answer it appropriately and accordingly.
With all due respect, I appreciate that but the Minister of State will have heard me say on that same occasion that if the process is open-ended there will be no definitive timeline as to when it ends and it could go on forever. The Minister of State said on that day that there is nothing we can do, but there is something we can do. We are legislators. We can ensure there is a timeline on the process. We can bring forth legislation such that in regard to the planning issue in terms of the Arterial Drainage Acts a timeline must be set and adhered to. It cannot be open-ended, otherwise we could be here in ten years' time. This is going on since 2012. The minutes of the meeting in 2012 recorded that this flood drainage scheme would go ahead. I appreciate that as stated by the Minister of State he had a meeting with one of the councillors. The reality is that at last month's meeting in Enniscorthy the councillors again requested a meeting with the Minister. I am here pre-empting that. The Minister will have to have that meeting.
As I said, this is part of a process in which the Minister cannot interfere. I said at the time, and I reiterate it again on the floor of the Dáil, that the process is open-ended for very good reason. If it was not open-ended and a time constraint was placed on it people would also have a difficulty with that. They would say that because of the time constraint the process needs to be extended. The Arterial Drainage Acts are laid out in a manner which gives the Commissioners for the Office of Public Works access to lands such as lands owned by the ESB so that we are not forced into the situation whereby compulsory purchase acquisition and so on is necessary.
I know that people are very frustrated. I am very frustrated, as is the OPW. Tom Enright is doing an excellent job as chief executive of Wexford County Council.
Aside from the recent-----
I did not interrupt the Deputy. Mr. Enright is working with us to try to deliver this scheme along with other schemes in Wexford. He is doing an excellent job to get it delivered. As soon as the OPW is in a position where it can get confirmation of the scheme, if we can get confirmation of it, we will deliver it.
56. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the forthcoming regulation of lobbying (amendment) Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11798/22]
View answerI would like to hear from the Minister in regard to the forthcoming regulation of lobbying (amendment) Bill. This is an area in which the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, the Minister and I have an interest and an issue that regularly comes up in the media and in the public domain. I would be interested in hearing an update on the Bill.
On 15 February, the Government approved the general scheme of the regulation of lobbying (amendment) Bill 2022. The general scheme has been published and referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach for pre-legislative scrutiny. I have instructed my officials to give the committee whatever support it requires in terms of briefing or clarification in respect of any of the heads of the Bill and I have asked that this issue be prioritised, if at all possible, given the key role that regulation of lobbying legislation plays in supporting transparency and citizen participation. I acknowledge the very large workload facing the committee at this time.
I anticipate that the Bill will be drafted and published in the coming months and that it will be enacted as soon as possible thereafter. I acknowledge the work of our colleague and former Minister, Deputy Howlin, in bringing forward the 2015 Act which was ground-breaking for its time and set the template for many European countries to bring in similar regimes, but it now requires updating. I acknowledge the work done by Deputy Farrell on this issue as well. Lobbying is part of a democratic process but it is important we know who is lobbying, who is being lobbied and the purpose of that lobbying. Reforming and modernising the system is the appropriate thing to do.
I agree with the Minister that reform in this area is extremely important. My understanding in regard to the forthcoming Bill is that it does not make provision for an extension of the cooling off period to two years. Section 7 of the Bill which Deputy Doherty and I drafted amends section 22 of the principal Act and extends the cooling off period for designated public officials leaving public office from one to two years. This particular move from one to two years is recommended, including by the Standards in Public Office Commission, and by various experts who appeared before the finance committee. It is felt that one year is insufficient to mitigate the use of former networks that can be used to trade influence and that a two-year cooling off period would be far more effective. Can the Minister advise his rationale for not extending the cooling-off period?
This is one of the issues we will have to debate and tease out over the course of pre-legislative scrutiny and on Second, Committee and Report Stages of the Bill across the House. It is a question of judgment. It is also a question of what is proportionate, balanced and fair. People do have a right to earn a living having worked previously at senior level in the Civil Service or as a public representative, but it is important that there is a cooling-off period. One of the issues we are seeking to address in the heads of Bill I have brought forward is the enforcement of any contravention of the existing legislation. We have brought forward a proposal in that regard. It is civil and administrative in nature, with a fine of up to €25,000 and a prohibition on lobbying for up to a two year period. We need to tease this out and to look at what other European countries and countries outside of the European Union are doing and discuss it in the course of the legislative process.
I agree that the enforcement of the contravention is key. That will, hopefully, stop people ignoring the timeline of one or two years depending on what is decided. While I agree with the Minister that people have to be able to earn a living afterwards, we need to be very clear that we are shutting the revolving door that is perceived out there between politics and big business. That is, unfortunately, an attitude people have towards politics. We cannot have a situation where former politicians or others are able to trade influence one year after they have left office. That is the purpose of the forthcoming Bill. The Minister has agreed that the existing Act needs to be updated. It is important to restore public confidence in public and political life.
I acknowledge that change is needed. As Minister, the Deputy will not find me defending a situation where somebody can go from holding a senior position in government one day, exercising important responsibilities, to very shortly afterwards moving to a position where he or she is directly interacting with and lobbying the previous employer. That is not something that should be allowed or can happen. The issue that has been identified is the need to have an appropriate sanction in place and an appropriate penalty. That is the issue we have sought to address. We have looked at a range of jurisdictions. In my view, Ireland compares quite well in already having a statutory basis for a cooling-off period. Where it is lacking and there is a gap currently is in regard to the enforceability of that cooling off period. SIPO has called that out in the past. We have conducted an in-depth review. I will work with the Deputy to tease out with her the logic and rationale for the conclusions that we have reached and I will, of course, listen to her perspective and point of view in that regard.
57. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will introduce an emergency mini supplementary budget without delay aimed at tackling the cost of living crisis. [11766/22]
View answerI am asking the Minister to do something about the escalating cost of fuel and energy that people must now bear. I am asking for a mini-budget or for the Minister to do something to give back some of the extra tax that has been accrued as a result of the increase in the base cost of the fuel that is coming into the country. The Government is taking in a greater amount of tax so I am asking the Minister to give back some of that extra tax.
I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue for many people across the country. As we emerge from the pandemic and the economy recovers, we are faced with a new set of challenges, including rising energy prices and transitory supply issues that are causing prices to increase. In that context, last October's budget included a range of measures to support citizens with the rising cost of living, including increases to weekly social welfare rates. Targeted measures included increases in the living alone allowance, the qualified child allowance and the weekly rate of fuel allowance. The latter increase, which was implemented immediately on budget night in October, was an exceptional measure and is not what normally occurs.
However, the Government is acutely conscious of the challenges still facing households, in particular relating to energy bills and especially for those on lower incomes. In recognition of those challenges, the Government has in recent weeks set out a series of measures aimed at further mitigating the cost of living pressures people are facing. These measures, as the Deputy knows, add up to over €500 million. The Deputy is also well aware of what they are so I do not need to go through them in detail. We anticipate that the electricity credit will be applied to over 2 million domestic electricity accounts in the March and April billing cycle. We will see a one-off payment of €125 for fuel allowance recipients in the first half of this month, I anticipate. The reduction in the drugs payment scheme threshold kicked in today. That threshold is now €80. We have brought forward improvements in the working family payment. We have announced a reduction in fares for public transport users and reductions in the family caps that apply to school transport scheme payments. The Government is making a contribution to addressing the cost of living pressures but we acknowledge they are particularly acute at this time.
I appreciate all the measures the Government has taken. However, many people have not benefited from those gestures from the Government. That is especially the case for people who are on the road and going to work, and families who are taking children to school. The costs for commercial lorries and others in the transport industry have gone up steeply. I am also talking about industrial contractors who are transporting materials for roads and building houses. School buses are tied into contracts. It may be construed that I have a conflict of interest in that regard but school bus operators are tied into contracts they must honour. They are suffering now. Taxi and hackney drivers are also affected. People who work as home helps were on to me in recent days and telling me that their work hardly pays them enough to justify going to mind old people.
We acknowledge that the current level of inflation is causing real problems for people in their day-to-day lives. We absolutely acknowledge that. When the budget was prepared last October, the forecast for inflation across this year was that it would average about 2.25%. It is now running, as the Deputy knows, at approximately 5% and it is much higher than that for some of the costs that people have to pay every day. That is particularly the case for domestic energy bills and the price at the pumps that the Deputy has rightly highlighted. That is placing cost pressures in particular on people who are regular road users, for whom alternatives may not be readily available.
As the Deputy knows, we are investing through Our Rural Future and local transport schemes to expand Local Link services as part of the Connecting Ireland plan. There is a commitment to develop a grant-aided community transport service scheme through Local Link. I am sure the Deputy will acknowledge that the plan we have brought forward for retrofitting will make a real difference for people. We acknowledge the pressures people are under. We think they will pass. We think the situation is temporary and will moderate over time but we cannot be certain at this stage as to when we will see a reduction in those prices.
I thank the Minister. I appreciate all the things the Government has done but it must do more to help people. The Minister has vast experience. I know the Government wants to create employment. However, we must protect the employment we have. We must protect people who are going to work. We must protect the farmers who are suffering. It is the domestic users who will suffer in the end. Perhaps food will become unavailable. Perhaps it will become too costly. We must ensure that life goes on.
As the Minister said, people have a right to make a living but they are not doing so at the moment. I am asking the Minister to give back some of the tax the Government has accrued. It is being asked of me every day I am out on the road, whether I go to the pub, the supermarket or wherever else I go. People are asking me why the Government is not doing what is being done in other countries and giving back some of the tax it has accrued. The Government is accruing extra tax. The people who are paying it are suffering. Those are the people to whom we need to give something back.
I would make the case that an intervention of more than €500 million outside the budgetary context is not insignificant. That is an important intervention by the Government and almost €400 million of that is going to everyone, in a universal sense, through the electricity credit. Many people are badly in need of that and want to see it applied to their electricity accounts as quickly as possible.
We are seeing a strong rebound in the economy. Almost 2.5 million people are now at work in Ireland, which is more than ever before. We are seeing a recovery that is accelerating faster than many people predicted. That is not to understate the challenges that are there. The Government is continuing to monitor the situation. We acknowledge the pressures people are under but some of the measures we have announced have yet to take effect. Some of the measures in the budget we announced last October, such as the improvement to childcare provision and childcare fees, the improvements in third level grants and SUSI grants, and measures to improve the eligibility thresholds, have yet to kick in.
