Parliamentary questions

Public Services Provision

Gerald Nash

117. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the work his Department has undertaken to date to deliver on the plain language requirement on all public service communication as referenced in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32344/21]

Freedom of Information

Gerald Nash

118. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to enhance freedom of information legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32343/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gerald Nash

121. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of the proposed work placement experience programme as cited in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan; his plans to ensure that participants of the programme are appropriately remunerated under the proposed scheme; if he will engage with a union (details supplied) on the design and governance of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32346/21]

Departmental Circulars

Gerald Nash

128. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the promotion of the green and social procurement agenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32345/21]

Fiscal Policy

Gerald Nash

131. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on a recent Fiscal Advisory Council report (details supplied) which states that the Government has failed to deliver on its commitment to publish a credible medium-term strategy with SPU 2021, that the recent SPU is based on poorly-founded medium-term spending forecasts and does not incorporate major policy commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32347/21]

Departmental Policies

Gerald Nash

94. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of the proposed development of a shared Government data centre to support the digitalisation of Government services as part of the draft national recovery and resilience plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32294/21]

Civil Service

Gerald Nash

95. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on a recent remote working report (details supplied) in which 88% of civil servants surveyed indicated that they feel as effective when working remotely as they are during normal working arrangements and that three-quarters of staff surveyed indicated that they would like to continue to access remote working in the future if given the choice; his plans to provide such choice for flexible and remote working for civil servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32295/21]

Economic and Social Research Institute

Gerald Nash

82. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on a recent ESRI report (details supplied); his further views on whether, given the expected strong post-Covid-19 performance of the Irish economy and the likely continued low cost of sovereign debt, the adoption of a consistently negative Government primary balance can be pursued under a prudent and sustainable set of conditions which would be specifically for capital expenditure purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31609/21]

Fiscal Policy

Gerald Nash

91. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on a recent IFAC report (details supplied) which states that the Government has failed to deliver on its commitment to publish a credible medium-term strategy in terms of the SPU 2021; his further views on the view that the recent SPU is based on poorly founded medium-term spending forecasts and does not incorporate major policy commitments referenced in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31608/21]

Fiscal Policy

Gerald Nash

96. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his plans to address aggressive tax planning as part the Government’s priority reform commitments made under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan; the way this will impact on the bottom line of the Exchequer and on budget forecasts; his views on a recent IFAC report which states the loss to the Exchequer due to international changes in corporation tax rules could be €3.5 billion; if he plans to instruct his Department to provide an updated forecast report on the potential loss to the Exchequer due to international changes in corporation tax rules and the options for replacing these tax revenues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31607/21]

Tax Code

Gerald Nash

116. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on the global corporation tax reform proposals as discussed at the G7 meeting he attended as President of the Eurogroup; the implications for Ireland if an agreement along the lines of that proposal are ultimately adopted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31606/21]

Economic and Social Research Institute

Gerald Nash

123. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on a recent ESRI report (details supplied); his further views on whether the recurrent tax levied on wealth and assets could raise substantial amounts of revenue; his plans to conduct an analysis into the additional revenue which could be raised for the Exchequer through targeted growth-friendly wealth taxes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31610/21]

Driver Licences

Gerald Nash

226. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Transport if he plans to provide an extension to the expiry date of driver licences beyond the current cut-off date of June 2021; his views on whether an extension for learner permits due to expire in 2021 is particularly necessary given the significant driver lesson and test backlog due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30690/21]

Banking Sector

Gerald Nash

317. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on the concerns of an association (details supplied) that the future viability of the plans to operate services of a bank from post offices is in serious doubt; if he plans to issue a statement requesting the bank to pause any branch closures until businesses have had an opportunity to reopen and adjust after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30549/21]

State Bodies

Gerald Nash

328. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the end dates of the terms of office of each of the chief executive officers or equivalent in each of the public bodies or publicly funded bodies under his aegis; if there will be a publicly open competition to fill these roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30584/21]

Tax Reliefs

Gerald Nash

372. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on the finding from a recent report (details supplied) which states that restricting some of the less well targeted, tax expenditure reliefs and exemptions that apply to taxes such as CGT and CAT could not only contribute to raising significant sums of tax revenue but could also result in a simpler, more efficient tax system; his plans to examine such reliefs in order to put Exchequer funding on a sustainable footing, especially in view of the proposed international changes on corporation taxation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31612/21]

Tax Reliefs

Gerald Nash

373. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on the finding from a recent report (details supplied) that eliminating some of the fossil-fuel tax reliefs could generate a significant amount of revenue while simultaneously promoting a cleaner environment; his plans to examine the elimination of such fossil-fuel tax reliefs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31613/21]

Summer Economic Statement

Gerald Nash

374. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance his views on the recently reported comments of the Chief Executive of the NTMA who stated that short to medium term environment for debt refinancing will be benign; his further views on the recent comments from the President of the European Central Bank that strong policy support will continue to provide a bridge over the pandemic and well into the economic recovery (details supplied); the status of his stated a proposed deficit reduction framework and a medium-term fiscal target in the forthcoming Summer Economic Statement in view of favourable borrowing conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31614/21]

Public Sector Staff

Gerald Nash

420. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the end dates of the terms of office of each of the chief executive officers or equivalent in each of the public bodies under his aegis or of the ESRI and IPA as publicly funded bodies; if there will be a publicly open competition to fill these roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30583/21]

Energy Policy

Gerald Nash

421. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if each of the agencies under his aegis and the publicly funded agencies of the ESRI and the IPA have included transport and travel in their annual reports to the SEAI in relation to public sector energy efficiency performance in relation to their 2020 energy targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30585/21]