Written Answers Nos. 308-329
308. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the opportunities that persons in lower grades of the public service have been afforded in contributing to the reforms of the public service as sought in the public service agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50641/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department holds Departmental Council meetings on a regular basis at which all of the staff unions are represented and they can place any issues of concern and/or any suggestions they may have on the agenda. In addition, officials from the Personnel Section of my Department hold bilateral meetings with the staff unions including the CPSU and the PSEU, who represent the grades of clerical officer/ staff officer and executive officer/higher executive officer respectively, to discuss any issues of concern they have in respect of their members.
Officials in my Department are always open to suggestions by any staff members regardless of what grade they are in order to minimise the impacts of staffing reductions on service delivery and lead to a more effective and efficient provision of services as agreed under the Public Service Agreement. Arising from one of these bilaterals the PSEU Branch in the Department canvassed their members on ways to improve efficiency and seek cost saving suggestions. These suggestions were reviewed in detail by Personnel Section in association with the management of the relevant sections across the Department with a view to implementing the ideas and suggestions where feasible.
309. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills how well funded all semi-State company pension schemes are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50653/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraFor the Deputy's information there are no commercial semi-state companies/agencies under the aegis of my Department. Details of non-commercial agencies under the remit of my Department can be downloaded from the Department's website.
310. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if analysis of the Peace Programme have been carried out; if such analysis will inform the introduction of the successor programme to the Peace III Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49411/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Special EU Programmes Body, a North South Body established under the Good Friday Agreement, is responsible for the management and implementation of the PEACE III and Interreg IVA cross-border EU co-funded Programmes.
The SEUPB has recently commissioned a mid-term evaluation of the PEACE III Programme (2007-2013). Work on this study will commence in late November 2012. The mid-term evaluation will review the programme performance to date to establish the progress which the Programme is making toward achieving the objectives as set out in the PEACE III Operational Programme. The study will also draw conclusions on the programme’s efficiency, effectiveness and impact and make recommendations for the direction and structure of any potential PEACE IV Programme, taking into consideration the Europe 2020 objectives.
My Department, and the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland, have asked the SEUPB to begin the process of preparing programme proposals for the 2014-2020 round of EU programmes. We have asked the SEUPB to conduct this work on the assumption that there would be a successor programme for both PEACE and Interreg.
I would stress that discussions on new EU programmes and funding are ongoing in Brussels in the context of the negotiation of the Multiannual Financial Framework and that final decisions have not yet been made. The Irish Government remains committed to a new PEACE Programme, however.
The programme preparation process has begun and SEUPB has organised consultation events across the eligible region. There is additional opportunity to provide feedback to the SEUPB by 20 November 2012. Under the guidance of a programme development steering committee representing government departments, local representatives and social partners, the SEUPB will draft programme proposals and a further consultation period will then commence.
The SEUPB will also be carrying out an ex-ante evaluation study for a PEACE IV (2014-2020) Programme. This study, which is a regulatory requirement, will be carried out in parallel with the drafting of the new PEACE IV programme. This evaluation will ensure that the Operational Programme clearly articulates the intervention logic and the contribution of the programme to the Europe 2020 strategy.
311. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe cé mhéad airgead a caitheadh ar Ionad an Bhlascaoid Mhóir in 2011 agus in 2012 go dáta; cén costas a bhain le cúrsaí foirne ann; céard air a caitheadh an chuid eile den airgead; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [49442/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra315. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe cé mhéid airgid a caitheadh ar Ionad an Bhlascaoid in 2011 agus 2012 go dáta; cén costas a bhain le cúrsaí foirne ann, cé air a caitheadh an chuid eile den airgead; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [49606/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 311 and 315 together.
Ba mar seo leanas a bhí cúrsaí caiteachais san Ionad:
|
Eilimintí Neamh-Phá |
Pá |
|
|
2011 |
€62,187 |
€165,891 |
|
2012 |
€52,831 |
€140,496 |
(go críoch Dheireadh Fómhair)
Baineann na figiúirí pá le baill foirne agus foireann treorach atá fostaithe san Ionad. Baineann na figiúirí neamh-phá le seirbhísí, áirgí agus costais oibriúcháin eile.
Maraon leis na figiúirí thuasluaite caitheadh €3,000 ar dhoras éalaithe tine sa tseomra ranga i 2011, agus caitheadh €60,000 i 2012 ag deisiú díon, doirse agus slinnte a bhí millte ag an aimsir.
Expenditure on the Centre was:
|
Non-pay |
Pay |
|
|
2011 |
€62,187 |
€165,891 |
|
2012 (to end Oct.) |
€52,831 |
€140,496 |
The pay figures relate to permanent staff and guide staff employed at the Centre. The non-pay figures relate to services, utilities and other operational costs.
In addition to the above approximately €3,000 was spent on replacement of a fire escape door in the classroom in 2011, and in 2012 €60,000 was spend on repairing a weather-damaged roof, tiles & doors.
312. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the interpretative panels will be erected at a location (details supplied) which were ordered under contract by the Office of Public Works in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49457/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraDesigns for the interpretive panels to be erected in the grounds at Durrow church will be finalised early in 2013. The fabrication of the panels will be tendered following receipt of the final design and it is hoped that the panels will be in place for the 2013 summer season. The original contract for 2010 was cancelled.
313. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list detailing the property vested in the State since 8 March 2011 pursuant to the State Property Act 1954, showing the source and a brief description of the property. [49496/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra314. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of properties which would have been vested in the State since March 2011 but whose vestment was waived by him pursuant to the State Property Act 1954, showing the source and a brief description of the property. [49497/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 314 together.
Under Section 28(2) of the State Property Act, 1954, as amended by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2011 and S.I. No. 418/2011 - Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011, personal property and land vested in or held in trust by a body corporate immediately prior to its dissolution (other than personal property or land held by such body upon trust for another person) becomes property of the State in the person of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform until such time as the company is restored to the Register or the Minister waives (under Section 31 of the Act) the interest vested in him. This mechanism acts as a fail-safe so that property is never ownerless.
The interest acquired by the Minister is described as a defeasible interest as it may be defeated by restoration of the company. Neither company nor property law require comprehensive and fully up-to-date asset records to be lodged with the Company Registration Office and the Property Registration Authority. Consequently, the only persons with a complete view of the assets held by a company at the time of its dissolution are the directors and officers of the company. As a result, the Minister only becomes aware that assets have vested in him by virtue of the State Property Act once he has been notified by an interested party. Administration of matters relating to real estate is delegated to the Office of Public Works.
The outcome of the situation described above is that the Minister/OPW can only become aware of properties that vest in the Minister when applicants write seeking a waiver in relation to a particular property and provide evidence of the properties vesting in the Minister. Even in such situations, information may only be made available on a particular property which may have vested in the Minister and information on further properties may not be made available. Furthermore, even though a company may be dissolved, the properties held by the company may not necessarily vest in the Minister, for example, they could be held on trust. Where no applications for waivers are received in relation to particular companies dissolving, no information is available on properties which could vest in the Minister.
Section 31 of the State Property Act, 1954 permits the Minister to divest himself of property which devolved to the State under Section 28(2). Upon receipt of an application, the Minister may waive the right of the State to such property as he thinks proper having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In general, the Minister will waive his interest in any such property where it is established that the applicant has a moral or quasi-moral right to the property in question. Where common interests apply, for example in the case of roads in housing estates, the Minister generally waives in favour of the relevant local authority. Notwithstanding the power to waive, it must be remembered that the primary mechanism available to the directors and beneficial owners of a company to regain control of their property is to restore the company to the register. In support of the legal policy underpinning the Companies Acts, the policy in relation to waivers is that the Minister does not waive in favour of the former directors of the dissolved company.
Bearing all these matters in mind, a list setting out details on the lines requested by the Deputy is currently in preparation and will be forwarded to him by the Office of Public Works as soon as possible.
316. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the cost of establishing the Ireland Stat website; the number of staff allocated to its running and their salaries; the annual cost of running this website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49403/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland Stat is a new initiative to provide simple and clear information about how Ireland is performing by reference to well-specified indicators across the broad range of governmental activity. It is part of the Government’s modernisation of presenting information on how public money is spent, allocated and accounted for and is a natural development of the Performance Budgeting initiative that was rolled out to almost all Departments at the start of this year and published in the Estimates document in February. These initiatives set expenditure in the context of Departments’ strategic goals, as set out in their Statements of Strategy, and present performance information, both in terms of actions and impacts, alongside the financial and human resources information that was already included in the Estimates. Both the Performance Budgeting initiative and Ireland Stat meet the Programme for Government commitment for greater accountability and transparency and build performance information into the heart of the budgetary process.
Furthermore, these initiatives represent a considerable streamlining of information and reporting of what Government Departments and Agencies are doing and achieving with public money. In particular, Performance Budgeting replaces the requirement to produce Annual Output Statements, a process that involved a degree of administrative burden on Departments and Offices as they had to reshape how information was presented in the Estimates to match the structure of their Statements of Strategy. There is now a single, coherent way of presenting the complex array of information that relates to each specific policy programme.
As I have already noted, the development of Ireland Stat is very much part of my Department’s ongoing work on the Performance Budgeting initiative and I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Ireland Stat initiative was in the main developed using the skills and knowledge of the officials in my Department. The technical aspects of the Ireland Stat development were managed in-house using internal Systems Development expertise. There are no staff allocated whole-time to running Ireland Stat: a small team from the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit, part of the newly established Irish Government Economic & Evaluation Service, were involved in the selection of the indicators and the overall website structure, as one element of their broader work programme, in close liaison with colleagues working on the overall programme of public sector reform. Their work has been informed by international best practice in this area. External consultancy services were retained for the specialist website design and the supporting graphics, for a total cost of just under €5,100.
As Ireland Stat is at a pilot phase there is a public consultation under way and details regarding this consultation are available from the Ireland Stat website. Following a complete review of the pilot project a decision will be made as to whether or not Ireland Stat should be extended to encompass all strategic programmes. Should the decision be taken to extend the project across all programmes, then the work required to develop and sustain the website will be streamlined within the existing work of Departments.
317. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 on 10 October 2012, the quantum by which capital expenditure is behind profile for the first 10 months of 2012. [49488/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra318. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 on 10 October 2012, if he will provide a forecast of total annual capital expenditure in 2012 and provide an explanation for variance with profile. [49489/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra319. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 on 10 October 2012, if he will provide an estimate of new jobs that would have been created plus jobs that would have been saved if the capital expenditure budget in 2012 had been spent according to profile. [49490/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 317 to 319, inclusive, together.
The End October Exchequer Statement, which was published on 2 November and which is available on the Department of Finance website, shows that net voted capital expenditure at end October was €2,037m, which is €336 million or 14.2% behind the published profile.
The actual roll-out of capital expenditure is a matter for individual line Departments and their agencies, operating within the annual allocations approved by Government and the delegated sanction arrangements issued by my Department.
Information from Departments indicates that the bulk of their remaining capital budgets will be spent by year end and that the level of savings available will be small. This spending pattern is in line with trends from previous years which show that the bulk of capital expenditure takes place in the last quarter of the year.
The potential for end year savings is dependent also on the decisions which will be taken shortly in relation to capital carryover. The capital carryover facility is an arrangement under which Departments are permitted to carryover unspent capital (up to 10% of their allocation) into the following year. This facility is an integral part of the rolling multi-annual capital system. The carryover facility means that moneys which would have been lost to the capital programmes and projects concerned under the annual system of allocating capital can now be made available for spending on programme priorities in the following year.
As the Deputy will be aware, capital spending has general characteristics which influence the allocation drawdown pattern. Expenditure on capital projects typically occurs in large tranches at fixed milestones, unlike current expenditure which is generally continuous throughout the year. Obviously, this affects the phasing and profiling of capital expenditure.
It is important to note that the profiling of capital expenditure is carried out by individual Departments on the basis of the likely timing of payments related to capital projects and programmes which they deliver. Job creation is not a factor of the profiling exercise. However, job creation and labour intensity of individual projects are factors that are taken into account when deciding on the allocation of capital to Departments.
320. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform how well funded all semi-State company pension schemes are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49587/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the Deputy’s question each Department is responsible for providing pension fund details in relation to commercial semi State companies for which they hold responsibility.
In relation to An Post National Lottery Company which comes under the aegis of my Department I wish to inform the Deputy that pay and pensions issues are a matter for An Post. The information requested regarding the pension fund would therefore be provided by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
321. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the amount currently being spent on, or budgeted for by State agencies under his remit for spending, on the areas of communication, public relations, consultancy, advertising and human resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49657/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the Deputy’s question the following are the amounts currently being spent by State Agencies under the remit of my Department in 2012:
|
Name of the body |
Spending on Communications |
Spending on Public Relations |
Spending on Consultancy |
Spending on Advertising |
|
Office of the Ombudsman |
Nil |
Nil |
57,366 |
43,116 |
|
Public Appointments Service |
Nil |
Nil |
152,000 |
231,500 |
|
Special EU Programmes Body |
133,000 |
6,000 |
116,000 |
20,000 |
|
State Laboratory |
Nil |
Nil |
12,000 |
Nil |
Details in respect of the Office of Public Works will be provided directly to the Deputy.
322. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on all competitions that have been held by the Office of Public Works to select security service providers for a public facility (details supplied) in Dublin 17; when the Office of Public Works will run the next public tender for management of the facility and for all service providers of this facility including the area of security; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49781/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of Public Works will publicly advertise a tender for the management of the facility in the week commencing 3rd December 2012. The security service for the facility will be a part of this tender. There have been no recent tenders for the management of this facility.
323. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount that his Department spent on flood alleviation schemes in County Meath for the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49862/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of Public Works (OPW) has spent almost €16m on flood alleviation measures in Co. Meath during the period in question. These amounts relate to the payment of funding to Meath County Council under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works Scheme as well as the costs associated with flood relief works carried out by the OPW, in particular the construction of the Mornington Flood Relief Scheme, which is now substantially complete. Other works were undertaken on the River Tolka and at Northlands in Mornington. A significant amount was expended in the county also under the OPW's ongoing arterial drainage maintenance programme.
Details of the monies spent for the years in question are given as follows:
Payments to Meath County Council under Minor Flood Mitigation Works Scheme
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
Total |
|
|
€77,000 |
€0 |
€38,730 |
€0 |
€115,730 |
Expenditure on Mornington Flood Relief Scheme & Other Flood Relief Works
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
Total |
|
|
€873,731 |
€1,656,401 |
€1,135,631 |
€370,037 |
€4,035,800 |
Arterial Drainage Maintenance Expenditure for the OPW Trim depot
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
Total |
|
|
€3,559,774 |
€3,006,941 |
€2,774,043 |
€2,357,473 |
€11,698,231 |
|
|
Yearly Totals: |
€4,510,505 |
€4,663,342 |
€3,948,404 |
€2,727,510 |
€15,849,761 |
324. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of officials by grade in his Department that will be working solely on the Presidency for the remainder of 2012; if redeployment or promotion has occurred; if they will be paid any additional allowances or pay; the way these officials were selected; if the selection procedure gave rise to any complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50024/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile there are a number of officials at different grade levels working on Presidency related business in my Department there is no one who will be working solely on Presidency related work for the remainder of 2012.
An interdivisional group has been established within my Department to co-ordinate preparation for the 2013 Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The group is chaired by the EU/North South Unit and includes those sections that will have a role in the Presidency, as well as the HR Unit. Presidency preparation features on the Management Board agenda each month and is also discussed at the Principal Officer Forum.
My Department is participating in a number of EU and Presidency co-ordination groups which have been established by the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade:
Cabinet Committee on EU Affairs;
Senior Officials Group;
Inderdepartmental Committee on EU Engagement;
Interdepartmental Committee on Co-ordination of the Presidency (IDCCP);
Interdepartmental Administrative Planning Group (IDAPG).
Last May an officer was appointed as a dedicated Department of Public Expenditure and Reform attaché in the Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels, focusing primarily on Cohesion policy. A second representative has been appointed to the Representation for the period to the end of the Presidency. This appointee took up duty there on 15 October 2012 and will focus on Procurement and Staff Regulations. These posts were filled from a panel of officials following internal competition. These postings did not give rise to a promotion. Appropriate allowance and expense payments associated with the posting will be made in accordance to the rules and regulations.
Prioritisation of resource allocation in my Department is conducted on an ongoing basis with reference to the Department’s business needs objectives and the level of expenditure available from which to meet those objectives. In this context, I am satisfied that preparations for the Presidency are well under way.
325. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the opportunities that persons in lower grades of the public service have been afforded in contributing to the reforms of the public service as sought in the Public Service Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50129/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are a range of formal and informal structures in place through which all members of staff can contribute to the improvement or enhancement of Public Sector Reform. The Secretary General meets with all staff on a twice yearly basis in an open discussion forum where policy is formulated and debated. Staff are strongly encouraged to engage in and contribute to these discussions. In addition to this Divisional meetings are held with all staff on a regular basis providing more opportunities for contribution.
In addition staff from all grades in my Department are provided with opportunities to contribute to the reforms of the public service via Departmental Council and the Departmental Partnership Committee.
A project to implement a Human Resources and Pensions Shared Service for the Civil Service is currently underway and in the Set-up Phase expressions of interest were sought from everyone to participate and contribute to the project. In Phase two expressions of interest were sought from officers currently serving in a range of grades from Clerical Officer to Assistant Principal Officer to work in the HR and Pensions Shared Service Centre. In the Payroll project frequent meetings between Finance Officers and payroll coordinators are held.
326. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will confirm the date on which the Protection of Employee (Temporary Agency Workers) Bill 2011 came into effect and the steps taken to ensure that all agencies, employers and agency workers are fully informed of their rights and responsibilities. [49443/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act was enacted on 16th May, 2012 and allows for equal treatment for agency workers in relation to their basic working and employment conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the Hirer to the same or similar job.
The Act also provides for the pay element of basic working and employment conditions to be made retrospective. This means that agency workers, who are on assignment on 5 December, 2011 are entitled to equal treatment in relation to Pay from 5 December, 2011.
I notified employers in a national information notice in December, 2011 in relation to the retrospective provision in the Act. Officials in my Department have met with various stakeholders whose members would be affected by the legislation to consult with and inform them about the legislation. My Department also published guidelines for the legislation which are available on the Department’s website.
In the event that agency workers have not received equal treatment in relation to Pay from 5 December, 2011, the Act provides a redress mechanism to the Rights Commissioner Service. I have instructed the National Employment Rights Authority call centre to answer all queries that agency workers, employment agencies and hirers may have in relation to all aspects of the legislation.
327. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of new jobs that were created in County Donegal in 2011 quarter 2, quarter 3, quarter 4 and to date in 2012 by American multinational companies which are clients of the Industrial Development Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49526/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on job gains and losses in companies that are supported by the enterprise development agencies. Data is provided by companies on a confidential basis for statistical purposes only so information in respect of individual companies is not available. The survey shows that 271 new jobs were created in IDA Ireland supported companies in Donegal in 2011. Figures for 2012 will not be available until year end.
328. Deputy Ray Butler asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is considering the development of a technology visa for IT professionals as recommended by the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation report, A review of the Information Communication Technology Demand in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49619/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2004, Irish labour market policy has been to ensure that general labour and skills needs are met from within the workforce of the European Economic Area (EEA). Current Government policy is to issue employment permits for the employment of non-EEA nationals for specific vacancies and in response to employer demand for strategic skills and labour shortages in designated occupations in key economic sectors such as health care, information technology and financial services.
Ireland has to compete with other countries for migrant labour, particularly in respect of high-level skills. Skills required in the high-tech sectors are in demand and in short supply globally. While increasing the supply of high-level skills from domestic sources is the most sustainable way forward in the long term, in the short term, there continues to be a need to supplement Ireland’s skills stock through employment permits and to ensure that Ireland’s employment permits system is geared towards attracting such skills.
The Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for the implementation of policy in relation to the admission of non-EEA nationals to the State and their residence in the State. However, the employment permit regime provides for control of Ireland’s labour market as well as powers for enforcement of employment rights. Deputies will be only too aware that economic migrants are a vulnerable class of people. Therefore, any actions affecting inward economic migration should be cognisant of the need to ensure that such migrants are protected and made aware of their employment rights.
The Employment Permits regime is supporting the enterprise sector and significant levels of applications are successful particularly those based on high skills levels. Figures indicate: a reduction in total applications in line with economic circumstances, but an increase in Green Card applications, in line with a greater emphasis on high value skills; and an increase in the proportion of applications in respect of ICT job roles with applications in respect of ICT job roles being more successful than the norm. Over 90% of ICT related applications are successful and over 1,000 ICT related applications have been approved so far this year. My Department has reviewed its processes with a view to attracting more ICT related applications and is confident that significant improvements can be made shortly which will greatly enhance the employment permits regime, for example, in conjunction with Forfás, a review is underway of the Green Card Employment Permit Scheme which is used by Ireland to meet labour market requirements where skills shortages have been identified by reference to analyses undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. An interim review of the four core employment permit types - Green Cards, Intra-Company Transfers, Work Permits and Spousal/Dependents - is being conducted with a view to improving the throughput and quality of employment permit applications. Such an initiative would favour the ICT sector in particular as it would include a streamlining of the documentary process, a reduction in the time it takes for applicants to prepare a successful application, and a significant reduction in processing times. Closer interactions are being cultivated with the Department of Justice and Equality with a view to providing a more coherent service across the employment permit regime and visa regime including policy convergence, greater information sharing and unified communications from both Departments in respect of labour market access. I intend to announce a range of improvements in this regard shortly.
It is also the Government’s ambition that Ireland should take advantage of the opportunities for employment in the ICT sector and that every opportunity is afforded to our graduates and unemployed to prepare them with the skills required to work in that sector. Employment Permits are but one way of increasing the level of ICT skills available in the labour market. Building Ireland’s ICT skills capability will require improving the domestic output of skilled ICT graduates and my colleague the Minister for Education and Skills has already put in place plans to establish an overarching target of doubling the annual output from honours degree ICT undergraduate programmes to 2,000 graduates by 2018. These plans involve actions to: increase the domestic supply of honours degree graduates in the short term through expansion of conversion; and boost the longer term supply and quality of graduates from the higher education system.
Finally, work is also proceeding with regard to the preparation of new employment permits legislation which will provide for more flexibility and targeted instruments in support of the economy’s evolving skills needs. Heads of Bill were approved by Government last April and since then, my Department has been engaged with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) in order to progress the drafting of the Bill.
329. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form the amount currently being spent on, or budgeted for, by State agencies under his remit for spending on the areas of communications, public relations, consultancy, advertising and human resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49655/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the expenditure by Agencies, this is a day-to-day matter for the individual Agencies concerned for which I have no responsibility. I have referred this aspect of the question to the Agencies for direct reply to the Deputy.
