Written Answers Nos. 67-73
67. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the signing of the commencement order and enactment of the various sections of the Construction Contracts Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26246/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Construction Contracts Bill passed all stages of the Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2013 and was signed into law on the 29 July 2013. The enactment of the legislation marked a significant step towards the Programme for Government commitment to introduce new legislation to protect small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies.
The implementation of the Act requires two further elements to ensure the legislation will operate as intended. The first, a comprehensive code of practice for the conduct of adjudication, has been the subject of consultation with key stakeholders. The final draft of the code of practice was circulated to stakeholders in March.
The second element requires the establishment of a panel of adjudicators and a chair of that panel to be appointed by the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform. The chair of the panel will appoint an adjudicator where parties to a payment dispute (that has been referred to adjudication under the Act) fail to agree on an adjudicator between them.
Detailed proposals for the structure for the panel, its set up and operation are complete. However it was recently decided to retain responsibility for the administration of the Act within my Department. This poses challenges in respect of this Department's role, through the Office of Government Procurement, in publishing the public works contracts which are also covered by the Act.
Officials are currently considering what further steps may be taken to ensure that potential conflicts of interest do not arise should a payment dispute under a public works contract be referred to the chair of the panel for the appointment of an adjudicator. Once this aspect is resolved stakeholders will be invited to respond to the proposed structure for the ministerial panel of adjudicators. Once the subsequent appointment process to the panel is complete the Act will be commenced.
68. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by his Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26186/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the Deputy's question I can confirm that from the establishment of my Department in 2011 and to date in 2014 no amount has been paid by my Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses.
69. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of appointments to State boards under the remit of his Department in each year from 2011 to 2014; the number that were publicly advertised; the reason all appointments are not open to public competition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26276/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware in 2011 the Government introduced new arrangements for the appointment of State board members. Under the new arrangements Departments now invite expressions of interest on their websites from the public in vacancies on the boards of bodies under their aegis. It is open to all members of the public regardless of gender, political affiliations or geographical location to apply for appointment to these vacancies.
I am satisfied that the new arrangements introduced by the Government in 2011 have significantly improved transparency in the making of appointments to State Boards compared with the making of appointments in previous years.
Since the formation of this Government 22 members have been nominated to State Boards under my remit. In the context of the sale of the National Lottery licence, I have considered it appropriate to re-appoint two of the Ministerial nominees to the An Post National Lottery Board; Mr. Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh has been re-appointed twice and Mr. Oliver Wilkinson has been re-appointed once. Consequently, recourse to advertising the positions publicly did not arise.
The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 states that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (in consultation with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice and Equality) should appoint members of the Board of the Public Appointments Service.
The Public Appointments Service Board is meant to be representative of our client base. The majority of the board are therefore civil or public servants, nominated by the relevant Minister. There is also a union representative nominated by ICTU. The two external members were appointed by the Minister because of their expertise in strategic change and public service recruitment respectively.
In view of these statutory procedures for the appointment of members of the Boards, there is limited scope for me to use the Publicjobs.ie website. The following tables give a breakdown of positions filled on State boards under my remit since March 2011:
|
Board Name |
No. of Appointments made |
No. of Positions Advertised |
|
|
An Post National Lottery Board |
2011 |
0 |
0 |
|
- |
2012 |
2 |
- |
|
- |
2013 |
6 |
- |
|
Public Appointments Service Board |
2011 |
9 |
0 |
|
- |
2012 |
2 |
- |
|
- |
2013 |
3 |
- |
|
Total |
- |
22 |
0 |
70. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current status of the clerical officer panel in the public service; if those on this panel may expect to be called to fill posts that may arise into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26316/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraRecruitment to the civil service and a range of other public bodies is handled under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 which established a central recruitment agency, the Public Appointments Service (PAS), for this purpose. The PAS operates under licence from the Commission for Public Service Appointments and is independent in its operations.
No Public Service Clerical Officer panels for permanent appointment are currently active due to the lapse of time since competitions were run. As the Deputy is aware, there has been a moratorium in place since 2008 which has severely curtailed recruitment to permanent positions, other than to those with critical replacement needs and key skills shortages. The last competition of this type was launched in 2007 and will not be revisited for offers of appointment at this stage. However, the Deputy may wish to note that it is anticipated that a new campaign for Public Service Clerical Officer will be advertised by PAS shortly and applications are welcome from interested parties.
Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO) campaigns are typically run each year to facilitate the filling of short-term vacancies/absences without conflicting with Government policy in reducing overall Civil Service numbers. Interviews for candidates under consideration for the TCO 2014 competition are ongoing and placements are expected to continue as required throughout the year.
71. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by his Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26184/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn seeking to provide the Deputy with the information requested, the assumption has been made that the question relates to civil proceedings taken by or against the Department or one of its offices.
During the years from 2009 to 2014, the total amount paid by my Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses was €65,000. This concerned two payments made in 2010, which related to a contribution to legal costs of two parties.
72. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of appointments to State Boards under the remit of his Department in each year from 2011 to 2014; the number that were publicly advertised; the reason all appointments are not open to public competition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26274/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince coming to Office in March 2011, I have made 41 appointments to the Boards of Agencies under my Department’s remit within my discretion. Appointments and reappointments were also allocated under legislation to Department Representatives, social partners, nominees of other Ministers, nominees of prescribed bodies and appointments on an Ex Officio basis and were not appropriate, therefore, for public advertisement.
Of the 41 new appointments made at my discretion, 28 appointments were selected from applicants to publicjobs.ie. A breakdown of these is presented in tabular format below.
In December 2013, at my request, the Public Appointments Service sought expressions of interest for vacancies arising on the Boards of Agencies under my Department during 2014. This exercise will help inform consideration of public appointments to Boards of Agencies under my remit in 2014.
It is not accurate to say that not all jobs were open to public competition. My Department places general advertisements for expressions of interest to Board positions on a periodic basis. Where possible, in the context of skillset, experience needed for particular appointments, positions are filled from those who have made expressions of interest.
Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation - New Agency Board Appointments within Minister’s Discretion
|
- |
2011* |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
Total |
|
Appointments |
4 |
15 |
11 |
11 |
41 |
|
Appointments made following public advertisement |
1 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
28 |
* March 2011 to end of year
73. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by her Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26187/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraActing as the State Claims Agency (SCA), the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) manages personal injury, property damage and clinical negligence claims brought against certain State authorities, including my Department.
The vast majority of claims under the remit of the SCA (over 11,000 received since 2009, across all State authorities) are resolved without confidentiality agreements attaching and it is not possible to say how many refer to my Department. Confidentiality agreements typically apply to claims in respect of minors or claims associated with abuse or specific medical negligence issues. The fact that cases might be subject to confidentiality agreements is not recorded on the National Adverse Event Management System (NAEMS). The confidentiality clauses are recorded only on the paper files. The agreements, where entered into at the behest of either party, preclude the disclosure of settlement details by either party.
