Wednesday, 10 Oct 2012

Written Answers Nos. 35-43

Public Sector Pensions Expenditure

Ceisteanna (35)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

35. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if any currently serving secretaries general retain TLAC terms with regards to their pension provisions; if he will provide a list of those secretaries general; if he will provide the total expected cost to the Exchequer of the pension pots to be paid out to the former on their retirement broken down by annual pension payment for each, lump sum payment on retirement and the additional special severance payment of half a year’s salary. [43488/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Deputy Brendan Howlin)

As the Deputy will be aware, in October 2011 the Government significantly revised the TLAC terms to apply to Secretaries General newly appointed thereafter. The terms in place prior to that revision still apply to currently serving Secretaries General who were appointed under those terms. As I said in previous replies on this matter, the advice of the Office of the Attorney General is that the Government does not have discretion to change those earlier terms where such terms form part of an individual's terms of employment.

Officers appointed since October 2011 and subject to the revised terms are as follows:

Mr Seán Ó Foghlú, Education and Skills

Mr John Murphy, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Mr John Moran, Finance

Mr Ambrose McLaughlin, Health

Mr Pádraig Dalton, CSO

Serving officers to whom the former TLAC terms continue to apply are as follows:

Mr Tom Moran, Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Mr Joe Hamill, Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Mr Liam O’Daly, Attorney-General’s Office

Mr Jim Breslin, Children and Youth Affairs

Mr Aidan Dunning, Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Mr Michael Howard, Defence

Ms Geraldine Tallon, Environment, Community and Local Government

Mr David Cooney, Foreign Affairs

Mr Brian Purcell, Justice and Equality

Ms Clare McGrath, Office of Public Works

Ms Josephine Feehily, Office of the Revenue Commissioners

Mr Robert Watt, Public Expenditure and Reform

Mr Adrian O’Neill, President’s Establishment

Ms Niamh O’Donoghue, Social Protection

Mr Martin Fraser, Taoiseach

Mr Tom O’Mahony, Transport, Tourism and Sport

It is not possible to provide the cost to the Exchequer of the pension entitlements of the individuals concerned as the definitive information necessary to make those calculations (e.g. service history, age and salary rate) will only be available at the actual time of retirement.

Legislative Programme

Ceisteanna (36)

Martin Ferris

Ceist:

36. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will include a definition of good faith in the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Act; and if the legislation will be introduced before the year end. [43496/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 is included in the Government’s Legislation Programme with an expected publication date early in 2013.

The specific definitions to be included in the proposed legislation are currently being considered by my Department in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel taking into account submissions made on the legislation and observations received on the General Scheme from the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.

Flood Relief Schemes Applications

Ceisteanna (37)

Denis Naughten

Ceist:

37. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to address the summer flooding in the Shannon Basin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43240/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

I continue to monitor very closely, the on-going progress in respect of the River Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management Study. The Deputy will be well aware of the many meetings I have held over the summer period with local elected representatives, local stakeholders and senior representatives of both Waterways Ireland and the ESB to discuss the situation.

I met again with Waterways Ireland and the ESB, on 19 September, 2012 to review operational control protocols for water flows and levels on the Shannon. It was agreed at that meeting, in the light of stakeholder requests, to carry out a water level monitoring exercise, involving controlled raising and lowering of weir boards at selected locations. The carrying out of this exercise is contingent on favourable hydrological conditions and for this reason it has not been possible to date to undertake the exercise. It is intended to carry out the exercise as soon as conditions permit.

I also met with the representatives of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI), and the Irish Boat Rental Association (IBRA) on 27 September, 2012 to discuss their concerns regarding operational controls on the Shannon. These concerns have been passed to Jacobs Engineering for active consideration in the context of its Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management (CFRAM) Study for the River Shannon, as part of the national CFRAM programme.

Further, a briefing of the Irish Farmers Association by Jacobs Engineering on the latter's Report on a Review of Operational Control of Water Levels on the River Shannon has been arranged for 24th October 2012.

I can assure you that I will maintain the close interest and involvement in this matter that I have demonstrated to date.

It is my intention to ensure that constructive dialogue continues with all the main stakeholders and that progress can be made towards achieving a balanced and fair solution where the water in the Shannon and its lakes is maintained at levels which meets the needs of business, navigation, power generation and the welfare of those living and farming directly adjacent to the main river channel.

Teachers' Remuneration

Ceisteanna (38)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

38. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way he intends to deal with the pay gap that has emerged between new entrant teachers and those appointed prior to his decision to withdraw all allowances. [43489/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The Government policy on the payment of qualifications allowances to new entrant teachers arises because of the need to constrain public service pay costs in face of the extremely difficult national financial position.

It should be noted however that the Government has decided that new entrant teachers who will no longer be in receipt of qualifications allowances will commence on a salary of €30,702, which is equivalent to the 4th point of the existing teachers salary scale from 1 January 2011. In gross salary terms this amounts to an incremental salary gain of €2,888 on the base incremental point of the scale for new entrant teachers. New entrant teachers will also have the option of being paid a pensionable allowance of €1,592 for supervision and substitution, thereby bringing their starting salary to €32,294.

Office of the Ombudsman Remit

Ceisteanna (39)

Peadar Tóibín

Ceist:

39. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason for his decision to exclude an additional 50 agencies from the Ombudsman’s remit despite his Programme for Government commitment to ensure that all statutory bodies and all bodies significantly funded from the public purse will be covered by the legislation. [43491/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The main purpose of the Ombudsman Amendment Bill is to extend the remit of the Ombudsman to an additional 140 bodies. As the Deputy will be aware there are a number of specific categories of public bodies which are of longstanding exclusion from the Ombudsman's jurisdiction on account of the specific characteristics of the bodies within these categories and the assessment following consultation with the Ombudsman that they do not warrant inclusion under the Act. The general principle that has guided this assessment is whether the individual citizen's interest is served from inclusion of the public body or otherwise. In particular, it has been a priority to ensure that as much as possible public bodies who in their day-to-day activities and administration have significant engagement and interaction with large numbers of citizens and have the potential through their administration and decision-making to give rise to an adverse effect for individual citizens are included. Consequently in general public bodies within the following categories of public body will remain exempt from review:-

- commercial State bodies,

- economic sectoral regulators

- bodies involved in the criminal justice and legal system

- research and advisory bodies with little or no interface with the general public.

In addition, while it has not proved possible in the time available to carry out a detailed comparison of the public bodies currently exempted from review by the Ombudsman and those largely drawn from the above categories which it is now proposed to exempt.

This reflects the process carried out by my Department with other Departments and in consultation with the Office of the Ombudsman to seek to ensure that all public bodies are listed either as reviewable or exempt agencies under the Bill, given that previously a significant number of public bodies were neither. As I indicated in the course of the Committee Stage debate on this Bill in the Seanad the process will secure the extension of the Ombudsman's power to review administrative decision-making to 140 public bodies which are currently excluded. Following the enactment of the Bill the Ombudsman will have the legal authority to carry out administrative review on well over 300 public bodies.

Public Procurement Contracts Expenditure

Ceisteanna (40)

Denis Naughten

Ceist:

40. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps that he is taking to assist small business to obtain public contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43239/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

I am very aware that public procurement can be an important source of business for local enterprises. Current guidelines (Circular 10/10) issued by my Department require public bodies to promote participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the award of public contracts. These guidelines set out positive measures that contracting authorities are to take to promote SME involvement in a manner that is consistent with the principles and rules of the existing public procurement regulatory regime. The guidance also highlights practices that are to be avoided because they can unjustifiably hinder small businesses in competing for public contracts. The key provisions of the guidance include:

- supplies and general services contracts with an estimated value of €25,000 or more to be advertised on the www.etenders.gov.ie website;

- less use of "restrictive" tendering procedures and greater use of "open" tendering;

- ensuring that the levels set by contracting authorities for suitability criteria are justified and proportionate to the needs of the contract;

- sub-dividing larger requirements into lots where this is practical and can be done without compromising efficiency and value for money.

Circular 10/10 has been in place for just over two years. It is clear that there is a need to ensure greater consistency in relation to the implementation of this circular. In this regard, the National Procurement Service (NPS) recently established a Working Group on Small & Medium Enterprises to respond to public procurement issues arising for SMEs. The Working Group consists of representatives from the NPS, the Health Service Executive, the Irish Business and Employers Federation, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, Chambers Ireland, and the Small Firms Association. The Working Group will develop measures to highlight the scope that contracting authorities have under circular 10/10 to encourage SME participation in public procurement processes.

Question No. 41 answered with Question No. 22.

Public Sector Pensions Expenditure

Ceisteanna (42)

Mary Lou McDonald

Ceist:

42. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to reduce excessive pensions paid to former senior civil servants. [43487/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

Several measures have been taken in recent years which serve to reduce pension awards and pensions in payment to retired public servants, including retired senior civil servants.

The pensions of former civil and public servants who retire or have retired from February 2012 onward are reduced in line with the substantial pay reductions applied under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Acts.

For public servants who retired up to the end of February 2012, the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) applies. I provided for an increase in the rate of PSPR that applies to pensions in excess of €100,000 to 20% of the excess amount, effective from 1 January of this year.

In June 2011 the Government agreed with my proposal to apply a general pay ceiling of €200,000 for future appointments to higher posts across the public service. Revised salary rates in line with that ceiling are now in place for future Secretaries General, who, in addition, can no longer get notional added years or immediate pensions before preserved pension age. These retrenchments in respect of salary and exit terms will ultimately reduce Exchequer pension costs in respect of senior civil servants.

Looking further ahead, the recently enacted Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 provides for a new Single Public Service Pension Scheme. This scheme will apply to all new-joiner public servants and will ultimately deliver significant Exchequer savings through reduced public service pensions. These long-term savings will derive from key features of the Single Scheme, principally an increase in pension age, inflation linkage of benefits and career-average accrual. The career-average component of the Single Scheme, in particular, is expected to have a marked impact in moderating the pensions paid to persons retiring from senior civil service posts.

It is important to point out that legal advice from the Attorney General says that it is possible to apply proportionate reductions to existing pensions, as has been done to date in the FEMPI legislation. However, account must be taken of the fact that pension benefits are generally regarded as vested property rights, which must be considered in the public interest when taking action.

Public Sector Reform Review

Ceisteanna (43)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

43. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will identify in detail the areas of the public service where redundant processes can be eliminated through the expanded use of IT equipment, through the amalgamation and consolidation of shared services; if he can identify where this has taken place; his plans to address deficiencies in service provision on a geographical basis through this method; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43242/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Deputy Brendan Howlin)

In November 2011, the Government published its comprehensive Public Service Reform Plan, which outlined key commitments for change across the Public Service. By end 2014, we expect to have reduced the number of staff in the Public Service to 282,500, compared with 320,000 in 2008. In this context, a key aspect of the Reform programme is that it will enable us to continue to provide important public services, notwithstanding the substantial reduction in Public Service numbers and resources.

The actions set out in the Reform Plan are accompanied by specified timescales for completion and Departments and major Offices have also devised their own high level Integrated Reform Delivery Plans dealing with all aspects of service provision. My Department takes the lead on key cross-cutting initiatives and each sector is responsible for the delivery of their sectoral plans.

Strong governance arrangements and processes to oversee implementation have been put in place. The Reform Programme is being driven by the Cabinet Committee on Public Service Reform, and a number of other key groups are in place to support that. Implementation is being coordinated and monitored by the Reform and Delivery Office in my Department. Individual Departments and major Offices have also established Change Delivery Teams, which are working closely with the Reform and Delivery Office on their own reform plans.

The recent Progress Report on the implementation of the Reform Plan, published last month, highlights the progress that has been made over the last nine months, including in areas such as shared services, eGovernment, procurement reform, external service delivery and the programme of political reform.

eGovernment 2012-2015, approved by Government and published in early April, sets out a new approach to eGovernment for the Irish Public Service and is based on the recognition in the Programme for Government and the Public Service Reform Plan that Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) are key enablers to delivering improved public services.

This strategy was developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in conjunction with the Public Service Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council. The CIO Council is a representative forum for senior managers with responsibility for ICT and/or eGovernment from across the Civil and Public Service to discuss key issues in these areas, and to provide expert input to decisions and actions to maximise the positive impact of ICT and eGovernment on public service modernisation and customer service.

Following on from the eGovernment Strategy, the Government published, in July, its Cloud Computing Strategy for the Public Service. Cloud computing is a radically new approach to the delivery of ICT services. Accordingly, it is a significant reform of how we design, develop, procure and operate our ICT environment and services.

Good progress is being made in meeting the aggressive timelines for progressing Shared Services set out in the Public Service Reform Plan. Together with my colleagues in Government, I am committed to the delivery of this significant transformation initiative in a planned way and on the basis of international best practice. To this end, a dedicated Shared Service Transformation Unit has been established within my Department. In addition to leading Shared Services efforts across the Civil Service, the Unit is also working with nominated senior officials to ensure that ambitious and robust plans are developed and implemented across all Public Service sectors.

The business case for a Civil Service HR Shared Service was approved by Government earlier this year. A new Shared Services Centre, known as PeoplePoint, will be established in Clonskeagh in Dublin. I expect the first transitions to this new centre to commence in March of next year with all in scope bodies being transitioned by the end of 2014. It is estimated that the establishment of this centre will reduce the annual cost of HR services for the Civil Service by 26%, while the number of staff involved in currently delivering these services will reduce by a minimum of 17%.

The Civil Service Pensions Administration Shared Services has been advanced well beyond our original target of 2014. I would now hope to have this service transition in 2013 in tandem with our new HR Shared Services Centre.

The baselining of Civil Service payroll arrangements has been completed. A dedicated Project Team within my Department is now overseeing the production of a business case for a Civil Service Payroll Shared Service which I expect to bring to Government early next year. In addition, officials within my Department are finalising their assessment of tenders for external assistance in carrying out a baselining and possible feasibility study relating to Financial Management and Banking Shared Services.