Results 41-60 of 1,078,548 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Kieran O'Donnell OR speaker:Roderic O'Gorman OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:John Lahart OR speaker:Anne Rabbitte OR speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor OR speaker:Paschal Donohoe OR speaker:Marian Harkin) in 'Committee meetings'

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: The people of the area, as I got to know first hand, have a deep connection with the turlough, with nature, and with their area. They want to be able to live in harmony with the turlough. There are rising water levels. They want a permanent measure in place. They have worked with us on the interim measure. The task for the OPW and particularly Roscommon County Council is to stick with...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: I acknowledge the Deputy's contribution in Midleton. I have been there. The community was exceptionally patient. We wanted to have an IPP scheme announced and up and running. We wanted it to be easy to operate and to have no cost to either the homeowners or businesses. We have followed up with Cork County Council on the particular matter the Deputy raised. We would like to see it being...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: We might ask Cork County Council to do a small body of work to see what the situation is. I know we are dealing with people's homes and real lives but, once again, I am a believer in process and a structured approach. With regard to advancing that work, we will maybe ask Cork County Council to do a small body of work.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: The new facility will be more energy-efficient than the existing centre, thus making a valuable contribution to meeting the Government's climate action target and reducing the State's carbon footprint. We will get the Deputy a technical note on the specific point and forward it to him. It is very valid.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: What happened in Spain was horrific, with a huge loss of life. During my time in the OPW, I have made flood relief schemes a significant priority. In that time, we have finalised a scheme for Midleton. We have finalised a €5.8 million individual property protection scheme for Midleton, to cater for 923 people, on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, the design of that scheme means...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have had a lot of engagement with people living around Lough Funshinagh. They are exceptional people who have been through very difficult times. There is currently an injunction in place for the main scheme in Lough Funshinagh. This requires Roscommon County Council to make an application to the board on the main scheme itself. Subject to that being granted, the council would have to go...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: All the schemes I have dealt with in the OPW have two elements. First, I want to see the main schemes progressed as quickly as possible. However, one thing we have learned from Lough Funshinagh is that we cannot bypass the process. We have to work within the process while seeking to expedite it. Second, we have to see if we can bring interim measures prior to the main scheme being ready....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I completely take that point. Of course, the Oireachtas should know, and I am sure the people want to know as well, what level of money is involved in the settlement of legal cases. All I would say is that that will have little interaction with the work of the Ombudsman. Not only is the Ombudsman independent, it covers off a particular set of functions. Many issues relating to the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: Of course they do, but it may not be being spent by the Ombudsman. That is my point. Of course the figure exists, but it is almost certainly not within the Ombudsman. If the Ombudsman does have health-related expenditure, I anticipate that would constitute a small share of its overall legal costs.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: If I were to highlight two reforms I believe are making a difference, the first is the way in which we have changed the process with regard to the public spending code. We have increased the threshold above which a further level of work needs to be done in evaluating the business case and where additional processes need to be triggered because the cost of the project is high. We have...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: In the lifetime of this Government, by some way the most disruptive issue to us delivering our capital projects has been the impact of cost-price inflation. It has meant the costs for certain projects, through nobody's fault, have moved significantly ahead of what they would have been expected to be because the costs of concrete, steel, wood and energy have all changed over the past two...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The Office of Government Procurement has done work to examine what the drivers of inflation I referred to are. It has been able to relate that back to raw materials and evaluate how the change in the cost of raw materials has impacted on the costs of projects and the procurement process. As for whether it is abating in any way, there have been some signs the rate of inflation is...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: The total amount being requested is €50.349 million. That includes capital and current expenditure. Capital expenditure amounts to €40 million of that, of which €26 million is coming from Europe. A total 65% of the capital funding is not a cost to the Exchequer. The money is coming directly from Europe.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: The best thing is if I guide the Deputy through the four projects because she will get a good appreciation of them. First is the original project, which is Backweston. That is an €80 million project, of which €40 million is coming from the EU fund. It started in March 2023 and will be completed in May 2025. It is on time and on budget. In terms of the way the funding...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is costing that. It is coming in on budget and on time. Work commenced on the Distillers Building in Smithfield in July 2024. It will be completed in August 2025. It is a €60 million project. The Exchequer provided €9.5 million in the Estimates for 2024. We are providing a further €7 million in the Supplementary Estimates. There will be €36 million...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I would not have that information with me because that covers off such an array of legal actions the State is involved in. I can certainly try to find out for the Deputy and revert to her with an answer, but, obviously, it will transcend massively the activity of the Ombudsman.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is estimated to cost €35.936 million.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: The main driver of that would be the expenses incurred by the Ombudsman in the delivery of their services. It is very difficult for us to be able to form a very accurate view and predict with total accuracy what its costs are going to be in any given year from a legal perspective. That is because the number of cases the office is involved in varies. The settlement period for cases is...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for the opportunity to be here this afternoon. I am here to engage on six Supplementary Estimates proposed for Votes under the Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Vote group. I will detail the requirements for each Vote but, in summary, they comprise a technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 for Vote 11; a...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Supplementary)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Supplementary)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Supplementary) (5 Nov 2024)

Kieran O'Donnell: As Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, I am here today to propose a Supplementary Estimate for the office. While the OPW’s net Estimate for 2024 on Vote 13 is €624 million, profiled expenditure for the year indicates an expected excess of €40.336 million on capital expenditure and €15.624 million on current expenditure. When...