Written Answers Nos. 1-24
4. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to implement sustainability clauses within the public procurement process in order to incentivise companies engaged in public contracts to act in as sustainable and environmentally friendly manner as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3625/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic Procurement is governed by the EU Treaty, EU Directives, Regulations and national guidelines. These set down rules whereby contracting authorities must award contracts under procedures designed to achieve value for public money in an open, transparent and non discriminatory competitive process.
The appropriateness of including sustainability clauses in public procurement projects will vary from contract to contract and is a matter for individual contracting authorities. Comprehensive guidance is available to public authorities assist them in this regard in the "Action Plan on Green Public Procurement", published in 2012, and "Green Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector", published in 2014. These documents identify eight priority areas of procurement activity which are most suitable for inclusion of sustainability clauses including; construction; energy; transport; food and catering services; cleaning products and services; paper; clothing and textiles; information and communications technology. Core criteria and comprehensive criteria are identified across the priority areas for use throughout the procurement process from specification, through to selection and award stages, and through to the contract management stage.
As the Deputy is aware, new EU Directives on Procurement were transposed into Irish Law in May of 2016 and these also provide greater scope and legal clarity in relation to the use of sustainability clauses, including for example on the use of life-cycle costing. The recently published framework for rapid housing for Fingal County Council for example included a provision for whole life costs in the design solutions and proposed a range of sustainability measures including renewable technologies.
Reform of the public procurement function is, and remains, driven by the need to obtain maximum value for public money in procuring works, supplies and services. However, the Government recognises that public procurement provides an important mechanism for moving the market in favour of the provision of more eco-efficient, less environmentally-harmful goods and services. The Irish public sector needs to play an exemplary role in promoting environmental measures throughout its spending. This can also be a driver for innovation and competitiveness in the industrial sector as it promotes the development of new technologies and can provide a competitive advantage for emerging companies in the SME sector.
6. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the proposed construction of Clonakilty flood relief scheme. [3268/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that the Clonakilty Flood Relief Scheme is currently out to tender for the civil works contract with tenders due for return on 14 February 2017.
The Scheme will be submitted to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for formal Confirmation under the Arterial Drainage Acts in the first quarter of 2017 with works proposed to start on site in summer 2017.
The OPW has provided for the estimated cost of the scheme in its multi-annual profiles of expenditure up to 2020.
12. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department is committed to equal pay for equal work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3275/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 10% reductions in starting pay for certain new entrants were introduced by the then Government in January 2011 as part of the National Recovery Plan in order to reduce the Public Service Pay Bill. Terms and conditions of employment for public servants are also set by reference to legislation including the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts and through negotiation and agreement under collective agreements such as the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) and the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA).
The issue of addressing the difference in incremental salary scales between those public servants, who entered public service employment since 2011 and those who entered before that date was addressed with the relevant union interests under the provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement.
Flexibility provided for within the LRA has allowed particular sectoral issues to be addressed such as the restoration of supervision and substitution payments and new entrant payments in the Education Sector and the restoration of rent allowances to new entrant firefighters and members of An Garda Síochána and this shows the potential of a collective approach in dealing successfully with such issues.
14. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will instruct all Departments to ensure that when tendering for construction projects that they favour bids that are based on direct employment of labour and observance of agreed sectorial rates of pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3424/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraModern manufacturing involves a significant supply chain contributing to a single product. The construction industry is no different in this regard and the procurement of a construction project assumes a significant element of subcontracting. The award of a main contract on the basis of direct employees would indirectly impose conditions on the construction sector that do not apply to the rest of the manufacturing sector requiring a significant change to the practice of project delivery.
The 2014 EU directive permits contracting authorities to ask tenderers to identify the percentage of the contract they intend to subcontract and includes a requirement for contractors to identify their subcontractors after the award of the contract.
The 2015 amendments to the Industrial Relations Act introduced the Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) to replace the system of registration of employment agreements struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013 as unconstitutional. An application for an SEO to govern construction sector pay is currently under consideration by the Labour Court. Until the SEO is registered in accordance with the legislation, it may not be enforced by the relevant authorities.
In seeking to ensure that public construction contracts are undertaken by businesses who are compliant with relevant employment law, the public works contracts contain conditions that require the main contractor to:
- post a notice on the site setting out the employment rights of the workers;
- submit a certificate with each payment application stating that they are compliant with these conditions of contract;
- maintain records of payments to all those engaged on the site;
- permit union representatives who are party to any employment agreement access to the contractor's management on matters related to their members who are employed on the site;
- on a weekly basis to provide a list of all those engaged on the site and their hours worked.
Where a contractor fails to comply with these provisions, the contracting authority may withhold monies from payments due until the situation is rectified and advise the relevant enforcement authorities.
Employment law and matters relating to sectoral rates of pay are matters for my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Workplace Relations Commission is the body tasked with establishing compliance with employment law.
16. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the specific measures that will be undertaken by the Office of Public Works in 2017 to alleviate flooding caused by the River Erne in County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3270/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe core strategy for addressing areas at potentially significant risk from flooding, is the Office of Public Work’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. 300 locations nationwide are being assessed under the Programme, which is being undertaken by engineering consultants on behalf of the OPW working in partnership with the local authorities.
The Erne Catchment is being assessed under the Office of Public Work’s in close co-operation with Northern Ireland’s River Agency. This co-operation is part of our respective implementation of the EU Floods Directive and therefore the Erne Catchment in both Ireland and Northern Ireland has been fully assessed as part of the CFRAM Study.
In relation to the Erne Catchment system in County Cavan; CFRAM’s Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) study, carried out in 2011, identified Cavan Town and Ballyconnell as Areas of Further Assessment (AFA) and are being assessed as part of the North Western-Neagh Bann CFRAM Study. In the AFA of Cavan Town there are structural options proposed in the draft Flood Risk Management Plan. In the AFA of Ballyconnell, the detailed CFRAM analysis has determined that there is currently a very low level of flood risk from rivers and/or the sea in this area.
Those parts of the Erne Catchment which affect these AFAs have been modelled, mapped and assessed for options to manage flood risk. Public consultation events were held in Spring 2015 on the draft flood maps, in Spring 2016 on the preliminary options and Autumn 2016 on the draft plans.
Following this public consultation process, the draft plans are being finalised taking on board the comments received. The finalised plans will include a prioritised list of measures, both structural and non-structural, that can address flood risk in an environmentally sustainable and cost effective manner. Among the feasible measures that may form part of a flood defence scheme, as part of the implementation of the FRMPs will be; structural defences built through the OPW’s Arterial Drainage (Amendment) Act, 1995; Local Authorities own powers; and/or the Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme.
The OPW is on track to finalise the Flood Risk Management Plans, in Spring 2017, for approval by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
17. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Garda Representative Association claim that the €1,000 raise being given to other public sector workers will be extended to their members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3423/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue referred to by the Deputy arises in the context of an anomaly created by Labour Court recommendations CD/16/321 and CD/16/322 of 3 November 2016 which made payment awards exclusively in respect of members of the Garda Representative Associations and Garda Sergeants and Inspectors.
In acknowledgement of this anomaly and within the relevant provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement for addressing such matters the Government agreed in consultation with relevant union interests to an increase in annualised salaries of €1,000 for the period 1 April 2017 to August 2017 inclusive for public servants:
- who are on annualised salaries up to €65,000
- who are parties to the Lansdowne Road Agreement and
- who did not stand to benefit from the Labour Court recommendations in awarded in respect of GRA and AGSI Garda members.
Accordingly, the payment referred to by the Deputy is not due to be awarded to the Garda members.
20. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are expenditure plans in order meet the challenges and avail of the opportunities in view of the fact that the UK is leaving the Single Market and in all likelihood the customs union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3429/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile the specific impact of Brexit will be determined by the nature of the new relationship between the EU and the UK, I am confident that the economy is resilient and that appropriate fiscal policies are now in place. My objective is to protect and consolidate the progress of recent years which has seen economic growth become more firmly established, and the public finances now on the path to sustainability.
Against that background, the Minister for Finance and I were able to deliver a Budget for 2017 setting out our approach to Brexit and to build a national economic response. For the third year in succession it has been possible to increase resources for public services and infrastructure. The gross voted expenditure allocation of €58.1 billion in 2017 will be over 3 per cent higher than the 2016 allocation.
On the expenditure side, resources have been allocated towards areas that may be significantly impacted by Brexit, in particular in our regional and rural communities.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will see an increase in its allocation of almost 9%, with, as outlined in the Expenditure Report 2017, funding for the Rural Development Programme set to rise to €601 million in 2017.
The increased allocation to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also allows for continued investment in Foodwise 2025 to aid the development of Ireland's agrifood sector.
Funding provided to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will help fund the Action Plan on Rural Development.
Based on the objective to grow the number of jobs supported by the enterprise agencies, additional resources have been provided for Enterprise Ireland and the IDA specifically to help enterprises to deal with the impact of Brexit.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has adopted a whole-of-Government approach to the challenges posed by Brexit, led by the Cabinet Committee on Brexit which the Taoiseach chairs and of which I am a member. In addition, the expenditure implications of Brexit will form part of the considerations in the forthcoming Spending Review and the Mid-Term Review of the Capital Plan.
21. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which he plans to address the issue of coastal erosion; and the steps he will be taking to protect homes and infrastructure from coastal erosion. [38593/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraCoastal erosion is a natural and ongoing process which takes place around the entire coastline. Coastal erosion may threaten human life, infrastructure such as roads, and may undermine and cause damage to properties. However, it should also be recognised that coastal erosion also has beneficial effects to the local environment, such as providing natural nourishment and supply of sediment to adjacent beaches.
The primary objective of Government policy on coastal protection is to ensure that in areas identified as being at greatest risk of damage or loss of economic assets through coastal erosion or flooding, appropriate and sustainable measures are identified by Local Authorities to protect those assets and, where such measures are economically justified on cost benefit grounds and compatible with all required environmental and other statutory requirements, they are implemented subject to the availability of resources.
The OPW has undertaken a national assessment of coastal erosion (including erosion rates) under the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS) and the results of this study have been published on the OPW website. The relevant reports and associated predictive erosion hazard mapping (to 2050) may be viewed at www.opw.ie/en/floodriskmanagement/floodanderosionmapping.
This Study has surveyed and assessed the coastal erosion risk along the entire national coastline and this information is available to all Local Authorities to enable them to develop appropriate plans and strategies for the sustainable management of the coastline in their counties including the identification, prioritisation and, subject to the availability of resources, the implementation of coastal protection works both of a structural and non-structural nature.
The Local Authorities may carry out coastal protection works using their own resources. If necessary, they may also put forward proposals to the relevant central Government Departments for funding of appropriate measures depending on the infrastructure or assets under threat.
Because intervention within a coastal area may cause problems further along the coast, any proposed intervention measures are best developed in conjunction with a formal coastal erosion risk management study which has carefully investigated the problem and explored the full range of management options.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) operates the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, under which applications for funding from local authorities are considered for measures costing up to €500,000 in each instance. Funding for coastal erosion risk management studies may also be applied for under this scheme. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available for projects which meet the eligibility criteria including a requirement that the proposed measures are cost beneficial.
The OPW has published guidelines for coastal erosion risk management measures and funding applications under the Minor Works Scheme, available on the OPW website and at www.opw.ie/en/media/Final/Guidelines/Schedules.pdf.
22. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 713 of 17 January 2017, the details of the types of future State use being considered by his Department for the vacant State-owned properties on the list; if there are plans to repurpose any of the buildings for social housing or emergency accommodation usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3421/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe OPW has a clearly defined policy relating to vacant State properties that are identified as surplus to requirements. The policy with regard to non-operational (vacant) State properties and sites including former Garda stations is to:
1. Identify if the property is required/suitable for alternative State use by Government departments or the wider public sector.
2. If there is no other State use identified for a property, the OPW will then consider disposing of the property on the open market if and when conditions prevail, in order to generate revenue for the Exchequer.
3. If no State requirement is identified or if a decision is taken not to dispose of a particular property the OPW may consider community involvement subject to detailed written submission which would indicate that the community/voluntary group has the means to insure, maintain and manage the property and that there are no ongoing costs for the Exchequer.
The Commissioners of Public Works have engaged with key Local Authority stakeholders to ensure that property is not disposed of when it might be deemed suitable for alternative use such as to address the needs of homeless persons.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) is currently in discussion with local authorities in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny regarding properties that might be suitable for housing or emergency accommodation. The Office also has ongoing discussions with the Fr. Peter McVerry Trust regarding its needs.
The majority of the properties currently listed as vacant are closed Garda stations that are located in rural areas and would require significant investment and adaptation to suit the needs of homeless individuals and families. Many of these properties are not suited for such adaption.
It should be noted that when the OPW does dispose of any properties on the open market the receipts from those transactions are returned to the central exchequer thus enabling the funds to be used for social housing or related projects as deemed appropriate.
23. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the measures in place to enable Irish SMEs to compete fairly for public procurement contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3428/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers best value for money.
The EU Procurement Directives, transposed into Irish law in May 2016, are intended to make it easier for SMEs to tender for public procurement contracts. Specific measures aimed at facilitating SME participation include the following:
- there is explicit provision for prior discussion with suppliers and independent experts, with safeguards against distorting competition or violating transparency and non-discrimination principles;
- financial capacity criterion is less demanding and generally limited to twice the contract value;
- there is discretion to divide public contracts into lots;
- there is a provision for "consortia bidding" to encourage SME involvement; and
- there are reductions in the time limits for receipt of tenders;
The Government had accelerated a number of these measures into policy in Ireland by way of Circular 10/14, which issued in April 2014.
My colleague, Minister of State Eoghan Murphy, chairs an SME Advisory Group which meets quarterly and seeks to enhance the measures already in place to support SME access. This group comprises of SME industry representative bodies (IBEC, ISME, SFA, Chambers Ireland, and CIF) as well as the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, InterTrade Ireland and Enterprise Ireland (EI).
Some of the measures aimed at facilitating SME access to public procurement include events organised by InterTrade Ireland and supported by the OGP and EI. In 2016, for example, there were thirteen "Go-2-Tender" workshops attended by 179 businesses. There were also two "Meet the Buyer" events, in Belfast in June and a new Regional/Opportunity driven approach was piloted in Cork in October, attended by over 900 businesses and buyers from across the public sector, North and South. Similar events are planned for 2017.
In conclusion, the reform of public procurement across the public service is on-going and will continue to provide opportunities to the SME sector to win business. The OGP will continue to work with industry to ensure that winning government business is done in a fair, transparent and accessible way and to ensure that government procurement policies are business friendly.
24. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the Public Service Pay Commission; when he expects to have the first report from the commission; if the commission advised him on recently announced partial restoration in pay for public sector employees earning up to €65,000; if he has a timeframe for the full restoration of FEMPI reductions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3282/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is no doubt aware, in October of last year I appointed the following members of the Public Service Pay Commission:
- Mr. Kevin Duffy (Chair)
- Ms Marian Corcoran
- Mr Ultan Courtney
- Ms Ruth Curran
- Mr Noel Dowling
- Dr Seán Lyons
- Mr Peter McLoone
These individuals bring a wealth of industrial relations and economic experience.
Following Labour Court Recommendations (CD/16/321 & CD/16/322) I announced a two-phased approach to securing the future of collective pay agreements: Phase 1 to address anomalies arising from the recommendations; and Phase 2 to negotiate a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The Public Service Pay Commission did not provide advice on the measures taken last week under Phase 1 to support the continued viability of the Lansdowne Road Agreement in 2017. These were solely to correct anomalies arising from the Labour Court Recommendation.
Preparatory work for Phase 2 has commenced, with parties making submissions to the Public Service Pay Commission. An initial report from the Commission is expected in Q2 2017. This report will provide inputs on how the unwinding of FEMPI legislation can be best managed in light of:
- The evolution of pay trends in the public and private sectors based on published data;
- A comparison of pay rates for identifiable groups within the public service with prevailing non-public sector market rates
- International rates and comparisons where possible;
- The state of the national finances
Once this report is available, the Government intends to initiate negotiations on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement ahead of Budget 2018 considerations.
