Written Answers Nos. 333-346
333. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform what assessment has been carried out by his Department of the proposed new flood defence approach for the Clontarf seafront; if his Department plans to engage with a detailed design; and if money has been factored into the NDP envelope for its construction. [34791/23]
View answerDublin City Council is leading the development and design of a flood relief scheme for the Clontarf seafront, as part of the Clontarf Flood Relief Scheme. Dublin City Council has advised that the project is at the pre-feasibility stage and if a feasible scheme is identified it will be brought through preliminary design and planning to allow a viable scheme to be designed and constructed. This process involves extensive engagement and consultation with statutory agencies, local communities and residents.
Dublin City Council is currently seeking to develop a framework agreement for Consultant Engineering Design Services for a range of proposed projects, including the Clontarf Flood Relief Scheme. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is providing engineering advice to Dublin City Council.
Progressing a viable flood relief scheme for Clontarf, to be funded by the OPW through the €1.3bn for flood relief measures under the National Development Plan to 2030, will be in line with the requirements of the Public Spending Code; with Dublin City Council as the Sponsoring Agency and the OPW as the Approving Authority.
334. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform when it is intended to replace the temporary boulders at the fish pass in Bandon with a permanent structure; the estimated cost of these works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34823/23]
View answerThe Bandon Flood Relief Scheme was substantially completed on 16th October 2020.
A number of minor works to address elements identified during construction, which were outside the main construction contract, remain to be completed and are being progressed in separate works packages. Works to install the railing adjacent to the ‘Stretch’ Walkway have commenced and are due to be complete in Quarter 3 of 2023.
In March 2021, the OPW became aware that the boulders, rock and gravel material that formed the bed of the fish pass ramp had deteriorated, possibly as a result of extreme flows in the river in February 2021. The OPW immediately carried out inspections, accompanied by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) representatives and the fisheries’ specialist for the Project which identified serious deterioration of the rock and gravel bed materials used in the construction of the fish pass, over its full length.
Emergency works were carried out to solve the immediate problem with further temporary repair works being carried out in September 2022 to ensure fish passage is not impacted.
Investigations to find a longer-term solution are ongoing, with a view to fully rectifying the issue in due course.
335. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the number of personnel in his Department at Principal Officer level or above who, on retiring from that position, were subsequently appointed to a State or semi-State board over the past ten years. [34928/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department does not track the appointments of retired staff to State or semi-State Boards.
Details of membership of State Boards are available on the State Boards website: www.stateboards.ie.
State Boards manages Board appointments for over 200 state agencies including Commercial, Non-Commercial, Oversight Agencies, Regulatory Authorities and a range of other public bodies. The State Boards process operates under the Guidelines for Appointments to State Boards 2014.
336. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the progress made by the Interdepartmental Group led by the OPW in putting forward solutions and policies to deal with coastal erosion; if this group considered, as part of its work, necessary remedial work that need to be carried out in a small number of coastal communities along the coast where ever higher tides cut them off more frequently during spring tides stopping residents going about their daily business of going to work or school or services virtually making these place islands for a period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35142/23]
View answerThe Government established an Inter-Departmental Group on National Coastal Change Management Strategy to scope out an approach for the development of a national co-ordinated and integrated strategy to manage the projected impact of coastal change to our coastal communities, economies, heritage, culture and environment. The Inter-Departmental Group is jointly chaired by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the OPW and is supporter by a technical working group. The Group will shortly submit its report containing options and recommendations for the Government's consideration.
337. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the first and full-year cost of abolishing admission charges to Office of Public Works heritage sites. [35183/23]
View answerThe deficit in income is estimated at 11.5 million euro in the event of admission charges being abolished for a full twelve months at OPW heritage sites in 2024. This estimate has been prepared based on a comparative exercise on income generated across the years from 2019 to 2022 encompassing pre and post-Covid income levels.
338. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the first and full-year cost of increasing all wages in the public sector to a minimum of 13.85. [35184/23]
View answerIn relation to the civil service, for which my Department holds detailed data, the suggested rate of €13.85 per hour based on the civil service 35 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of approximately €25,294. Detailed data on civil service staff indicates that less than 0.1% of staff (FTE) in the civil service are on salary points less than this amount.
Those currently on an annual salary of less than €25,294 may be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested hourly rate through additional premium payments in respect of shift work or atypical working hours. In addition, these salary scales progress to the suggested hourly rate and above through normal incremental progression.
The current public service agreement is Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2023. The pay measures in the extended agreement amount to total headline adjustments of 9.5% over the lifetime of the Agreement. The extended Agreement is weighted towards those at lower incomes headline increases of approximately 12.5% for the lowest paid public servants. This would include all those earning less than €25,294 per annum.
The public service information sought in this request would require detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This data is not held in my Department.
339. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the first and full-year cost of increasing all wages in the public sector to the governments living wage. [35185/23]
View answerAs agreed by Government, the national living wage will be set at 60% of hourly median wages in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. It will be introduced over a four-year period and will be in place by 2026, at which point it will replace the National Minimum Wage. The first step towards reaching a living wage was the 80 cent increase to the National Minimum Wage from 1 January 2023 to €11.30 per hour. This will be followed by gradual increases to the National Minimum Wage until it reaches 60% of hourly median earnings. In 2023, it is estimated that 60% of median earnings would equate to approximately €13.10 per hour.
In relation to the civil service, for which my Department holds detailed data, the suggested Living Wage at €13.10 per hour based on the civil service 35 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of approximately €23,925. Detailed data on civil service staff indicates that less than 0.1% of staff (FTE) in the civil service are on salary points less than the suggested Living Wage.
Those currently on an annual salary of less than €23,925 may be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested living wage through additional premium payments in respect of shift work or atypical working hours. In addition, these salary scales progress to the suggested Living Wage and above through normal incremental progression.
The current public service agreement is Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2023. The pay measures in the extended agreement amount to total headline adjustments of 9.5% over the lifetime of the Agreement. The extended Agreement is weighted towards those at lower incomes headline increases of approximately 12.5% for the lowest paid public servants. This would include all those earning less than €23,925 per annum.
The public service information sought in this request would require detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This data is not held in my Department.
340. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the estimated cost of a 25%, 50% and 100% increase in the funding for the OPW for the construction and acquisition of buildings for public sector use. [35187/23]
View answerThe OPW will compile the information sought by the Deputy and provide it as soon as possible, based on the clarification provided.
341. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the estimated cost of increasing the IGEES budget by 5, 10 and 20 percent respectively. [35188/23]
View answerThe Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is a cross-Departmental network of Civil Service economists and policy analysts working directly for their respective Departments. IGEES consists of persons recruited through the IGEES recruitment stream and other Civil Servants in policy analysis roles who through the use of data and analytical work support evidence-informed policy making in the Irish Civil Service.
The IGEES budget is managed by the IGEES Corporate Support Unit (CSU) in the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR).
The IGEES budget, as set out in the DPENDR section of the annually published Revised Estimates, relates to annual allocations to fund the corporate operations of the IGEES network. These activities include recruitment, training (L&D), research funding and other corporate support activities for the network of approximately 200 IGEES analysts across the Civil Service. Decisions in respect of the IGEES budget form part of the Estimates process for DPENDR.
The IGEES CSU budget for 2023 is €253,000.
It is relevant to note that this does not include staff remuneration, as this is accounted for under general staffing costs in respective Departments.
Percent of 2023 IGEES CSU Budget
|
% |
Amount |
|
5% |
€12,650 |
|
10% |
€25,300 |
|
20% |
€50,600 |
342. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the estimated cost of increasing the Office of the chief information officer budget by 5, 10 and 20 percent respectively. [35189/23]
View answerThank you for your question Deputy. As you know the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) within my Department plays a leadership role in digital service delivery and innovation initiatives. OGCIO also has oversight of digital and ICT-related initiatives proposed by Departments and agencies, and supports Ireland’s representation at EU and OECD level. The OGCIO's Vote supports the provision and development of pan-public service ICT infrastructure, shared service delivery models and cross government applications.
The Voted Expenditure for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in 2023 is €40.286 million. This includes a provision of €4.5 million for the National Low Latency Platform programme that is funded under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) fund. There will be no allocation under this fund in 2024. Therefore the budget for 2024 is assumed to be the existing budget minus the RRF allocation.
The table below represents the total budget available were it to be increased in either 2023 or 2024 by 5, 10 and 20 percent respectively.
|
- |
2023 - including RRF funding |
2024 - excluding RRF funding |
|
OGCIO Voted Expenditure |
€40.286m |
€35.786m |
|
5% Increase |
€42.300m |
€37.575m |
|
10% Increase |
€44.314m |
€39.364m |
|
20% Increase |
€48.343m |
€42.943m |
343. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform for a breakdown of budgetary decisions, as outlined in Table 1 of the Summer Economic Statement, for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026, by, for example, Demographics, the NDP and public sector pay commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35216/23]
View answerTable 1 of the 2023 Summer Economic Statement sets out the budgetary strategy for the period to 2026. As part of the total budget package set out for each year from 2024 to 2026, amounts of €3.2 billion are indicated as for ‘budgetary decisions’. This category comprises provision for Existing Levels of Service (ELS) costs and the planned core capital expenditure increases under the National Development Plan (NDP).
The NDP was published in October 2021. It provides a clear vision for Ireland's infrastructure investment over the next 10 years. This investment will support economic, social, environmental and cultural development across the country under Project Ireland 2040. Core capital increases in Budget 2024 will be in line with the parameters set out in the NDP, with an additional €0.9 billion next year.
ELS funding refers to this process of evaluating how much money is needed if there were no new policy decisions taken. As per the approach taken in recent years, a provision of approximately 3% of the core current expenditure base is being made for ELS costs.
While not representing new policy decisions, ELS is a significant part of the additional funding allocated each year and delivers additional investment in public services, through for example providing schemes to a growing number of people, and investment in the public sector workforce. It includes a variety of elements such as
• the full year impact of previous year’s budget decisions;
• funding for the provision of public services for our growing and changing population; and
• investment in our public sector workforce under existing central public service pay deals.
This amount is an overall provision and the breakdown of this is not predetermined in advance of the estimates process each year. Each year the amount of funding that each Department needs in order to carry out their existing functions is assessed in advance of the Budget. This analysis considers a number of factors including actual demand in the current year compared to that underpinning the budgetary allocation, the potential changes in utilisation patterns, impact of demographics, as well as any capacity constraints that may exist.
344. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the capital ceilings, by Department, for the years 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029, as per the revised National Development Plan. [35218/23]
View answerAs Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments.
Over the lifetime of this NDP out to 2030, the government is investing €165 billion in new and upgraded infrastructure that will meet the needs of our growing population. This year alone over €12 billion will be invested from the Exchequer in vital infrastructure projects. The NDP included agreed Exchequer allocations for each Department for the period out to 2025 and the overall capital expenditure ceilings out to 2030, these allocations have been replicated in the tables set out below.
Table 1: Departmental Gross Capital Allocations as published in the NDP 2021 - 2030
|
Ministerial Vote Groups |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
Total |
|
- |
€ million |
€ million |
€ million |
€ million |
€ million |
€ million |
|
Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
271 |
281 |
284 |
287 |
290 |
1,413 |
|
Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth |
32 |
33 |
40 |
50 |
100 |
255 |
|
Defence |
131 |
141 |
141 |
142 |
142 |
697 |
|
Education |
740 |
792 |
860 |
940 |
1,040 |
4,372 |
|
Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
432 |
523 |
558 |
584 |
611 |
2,708 |
|
Environment, Climate and Communications |
579 |
700 |
850 |
950 |
1,100 |
4,179 |
|
Finance |
18 |
22 |
22 |
22 |
23 |
107 |
|
Foreign Affairs |
13 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
113 |
|
Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science |
500 |
538 |
579 |
620 |
652 |
2,889 |
|
Health |
905 |
1,010 |
1,127 |
1,255 |
1,360 |
5,657 |
|
Housing, Local Government and Heritage |
2,766 |
3,400 |
3,516 |
3,866 |
4,016 |
17,564 |
|
Justice |
258 |
270 |
272 |
274 |
278 |
1,352 |
|
Public Expenditure and Reform |
221 |
303 |
300 |
308 |
330 |
1,462 |
|
Rural & Community Development |
169 |
192 |
196 |
200 |
205 |
962 |
|
Social Protection |
16 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
17 |
81 |
|
Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media |
172 |
202 |
206 |
210 |
214 |
1,004 |
|
Transport |
2,511 |
2,547 |
2,614 |
2,664 |
2,665 |
13,001 |
|
Annual Priority Reserve |
0 |
0 |
51 |
148 |
267 |
466 |
|
ERDF |
0 |
70 |
100 |
115 |
115 |
400 |
|
Shared Island Fund |
50 |
50 |
100 |
150 |
150 |
500 |
|
Government Expenditure Ceiling* |
9,784 |
11,115 |
11,857 |
12,826 |
13,600 |
59,182 |
Table 2: Exchequer and Non-Exchequer Public Capital Investment 2021 - 2030
|
€ billion** |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
2029 |
2030 |
Total |
|
Exchequer |
9.8 |
11.1 |
11.9 |
12.8 |
13.6 |
14.2 |
14.9 |
15.4 |
15.9 |
16.4 |
136 |
|
Non-Exchequer |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
29 |
|
Total Capital Expenditure |
12.7 |
14 |
14.8 |
15.7 |
16.5 |
17.1 |
17.8 |
18.3 |
18.8 |
19.3 |
165 |
**Rounding effects
345. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if the €5.2 billion of non-core expenditure allocated for 2023 as per Table 7 of the Summer Economic Statement has been fully drawn down; the amounts that have been drawn down to date across Covid-19 expenditure, Ukraine Humanitarian Contingency and Other; and, in particular, to disaggregate the programmes by amount to which the €1.7 billion under Other has been allocated. [35219/23]
View answerIn the context of evolving externally-driven challenges in recent years, the Government has sought to ensure fiscal policy remains responsive to the economic and social context. This involves a two pronged approach which allows for core (permanent) and non-core (temporary) expenditure.
Significant supports have been provided in recent years to mitigate the impacts of challenges such as Covid-19, Brexit and the war in Ukraine. This temporary funding facilitates responsive fiscal policy providing supports to deal with key emerging external issues while protecting core or permanent day-to-day expenditure and investment.
To date, €4.1 billion of this overall provision has been allocated at Departmental level for specified purposes through Estimates voted by the Dáil for 2023. The funding allocated to Departments is, by category, set out below.
|
Funding Provision |
Allocated to Depts. |
|
|
Covid-19 |
€1.5bn |
€1.3bn |
|
Ukraine |
€2.0bn |
€1.6bn |
|
Other |
€1.7bn |
€1.2bn |
|
Total Non-Core |
€5.2bn |
€4.1bn |
The remaining €1.1 billion under the non-core provision remains unallocated. This will be allocated to Departments during the year where required to meet pressures arising in non-core areas.
The figure of €1.7bn in SES Table 7 corresponds to the amount in the funding provision column in the table above. Approximately €1.2bn of this amount has been allocated to Departments for the following purposes:
• Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS): €0.7bn
• National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): €0.2bn
• Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR): €0.2bn
346. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if his Department will outline the enhanced expenditure necessary to bring the Defence Forces up to their full complement and capability in order to defend our neutrality, patrol our waters and airspace and fulfil their international obligations such as peacekeeping; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35228/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the annual defence sector budget, comprising Vote 35, Army Pensions, and Vote 36, Defence, is determined within the overarching budgetary framework and approved by Dáil Eireann. The 2023 allocation for the Defence Vote Group as set out in the Revised Estimates amounts to €1.2 billion. My Department engages with the Department of Defence in relation to expenditure issues including through the annual Estimates process. Policy issues related to the Defence sector and the implementation of budgetary plans are a matter for the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, and the matters raised and any specific queries related to that sector should be appropriately addressed to him.
