As the Deputy will be aware, the drawdown of capital expenditure from the Exchequer is detailed each month and is publicly available in the Fiscal Monitor, which is published on the gov.ie website. All line Departments and agencies submit information on their expenditure levels against profile to my Department, along with an explanation outlining details regarding any variance of underspending or overspending against profile. The latest capital expenditure figures available to the end of May reveal that the net cap…

It is fair to point out we had significant underspends in 2020 and 2021, which were largely attributable to Covid and the shutdown in the construction sector that took place for a number of months in each of those years. However, that same reason does not apply in the current year. Every line Department is making the case to my Department that it will spend its capital budget. Having provided resources, we want to see them spent and we want to see the projects delivered across the implementation of the national dev…

At this time, we are not planning to transfer funding for capital budgets from one Department to another this side of the recess. We will keep it under constant review. The Deputy identified the Department of Education, which is a Department that is busy with the implementation of a school building programme. Like other Departments, it has experienced inflation in respect of public works contracts and delivering on the infrastructure it has. We expect Departments to stay within budget and to manage their budgets ef…

My Department is responsible for maintaining the national frameworks within which Departments operate to ensure appropriate accounting for and value for money in public expenditure, for example, the PSC. This code sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing capital projects. The management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. The PSC sets out the ove…

I do not have the full details of that project in front of me, but if the Deputy provides them to me, I will have them looked into and try to give her a proper assessment and summary of where the project stands. In essence, the line Department is responsible for ensuring compliance with the PSC. My Department has a role in overseeing the process. Formal approval for major projects has to be given by the Government at a number of decision gates. Where a preliminary business case is referred to my Department for asse…

Yes.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform does not interfere in the policy decisions made by line Departments, in this case the Department of Health and the HSE. When it comes to improving facilities and delivering new infrastructure, such decisions are made by them. What we insist on is that the PSC and the approval process be conducted properly and fully complied with. The strategic assessment report that the Deputy referred to is the first step. It involves an examination of the various options. A project …

I am acutely aware of the increases in inflation in recent months and the challenges faced by households, particularly in terms of energy costs. That is why a package of measures was announced by the Government this year dealing with the energy costs challenges faced by households. The Deputy has raised the specific issue of pension increases. As he may be aware, the most recent guidance and instructions on this matter for most retired public servants is outlined in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circu…

In recent years, because we have been going through a process of unwinding the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, there was an issue that impacted on a large number of public service workers. The salary of a serving public service employee had to reach the level of the salary which formed the basis of the pension for the pensioner who was in payment. Until these had begun to match each other, as they now have in the overwhelming majority of cases, a lot of pensioners were not getting increa…

In the case of the commercial State bodies, what generally happens is an assessment is carried out by the line Department. It has to have regard to the scheme trustees and make sure the benefits are protected for all the members. It will then make a recommendation. In some instances, the recommendation will come to my Department for approval and sign-off. I make sure those issues are dealt with quickly. For example, a recommendation was recently made to the line Department that there be a 2% increase in the pension…

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising what is such an important issue. The scenes at Dublin Airport that we all witnessed on our screens at the weekend are completely unacceptable. Passengers going through the airport should not have had to endure an experience like that and I can only imagine the stress, anxiety and anger that was caused to so many of them. Many of them had been saving long and hard for a well-earned holiday and, in too many instances, did not make their flight through absolutely no fault of their o…

I thank the Deputy. The message from the Government could not be clearer. The DAA needs to do whatever it takes to ensure this issue is addressed and that we do not see those kinds of scenes again, especially on the forthcoming bank holiday weekend. That is why the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, reinforced to the DAA executives the imperative to get on top of this because it is just not fair. It is not fair on the members of the public who rely on the services at the airport…

The decision of the DAA in May 2020 to embark on a voluntary severance scheme was against the backdrop at the time of a collapse in the aviation industry and the commercial reality that it was losing an enormous amount of money daily. It proposed a voluntary severance scheme and there was significant uptake of the scheme. It is also fair to say that the recovery in aviation has exceeded the expectations of the majority of commentators, and I believe it has exceeded the DAA's own expectations, to be frank. That is w…

The DAA has major obligations as an employer. It now has a duty to ensure that it reaches a full staffing complement in order to ensure the safe and efficient running of Dublin Airport and Cork Airport, which also comes under the remit of the DAA. That is why it is in the process of a significant recruitment campaign, which has attracted a lot of interest. It has offered existing security staff contracts with a minimum of 30 hours per week. The contract requires staff to be available to work 40 hours across a 24-7 …

I do not expect Deputy Boyd Barrett to come in here and give any kind of fair assessment of what the Government has done, but to come in and say it has done nothing is just blatantly incorrect. He knows that. In the most recent budget, and the measures since, we have introduced a package of approximately €2.4 billion of taxpayers' money to support households because we recognise and acknowledge the impact of the extraordinary level of inflation that is currently being experienced. Of course, an inflation rate of mo…

The Deputy's statement that what the Government has done is not enough is a fairer comment because that is his view, but to come to the Chamber to say we did nothing is, as I said, completely incorrect. I do not accept that €2.4 billion in measures represents a drop in the ocean. For a country the size of Ireland, the use of taxpayers' money of that magnitude is a major decision. It is not one we made lightly but it was absolutely warranted. To take those interventions outside the normal budgetary calendar, to redu…

-----and can afford to spend. We will then make decisions as a Government to be as fair as we possibly can in recognising the cost-of-living challenges people are undoubtedly facing but also being honest with people. The Government cannot fully off-set the impact on people's lives of this terrible war, which it had nothing to do with.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I have not had an opportunity to see the report he referenced that was published today, but I can give an update on the initiatives-----

I was not aware that the Deputy was going to raise this specific issue, but I will update him on what the Government is planning to do at policy level. We can respond to the Deputy on a bilateral basis in more detail. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 does not extend to people who are involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act 2001 or detained subject to an order under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006. The Attorney General's office has identified legal issues that need to be addressed bef…

I acknowledge Deputy Pringle's track record on this issue and the fact that he has raised the Brandon report in particular many times in the House and with our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who has taken a keen personal interest in the matter. She has been to Donegal and held a series of meetings on the matter there. She is most anxious that the full details in the Brandon report be published as soon as possible. Separately, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is introducing a safeguarding Bi…