I move: That leave be given by the Dail to introduce the following Supplementary Estimates for the service of the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2020: — Vote 9 — Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary Estimate) Vote 38 — Health (Supplementary Estimate).

I move: That subject to leave being given to introduce the following Supplementary Estimates for the service of the year ending on 31st December, 2020, the Supplementary Estimates be referred to the following Select Committees, as appropriate, pursuant to Standing Orders 95(1)( a ) and 215(3):— Vote 9 — Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Supplementary Estimate ) — Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. Vote 38 — Health (Supplementary Estimate) — Select Committee on Health.

I move the following Resolutions: THAT Chapter 5 of Part 12 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997), which provides for group relief, be amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution. THAT section 124B of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 (No. 31 of 1999), which provides for a levy on certain premiums of life assurance, be amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution. THAT section 125 of the Stamp Dut…

I move: That, pursuant to subsection (2A) (inserted by section 2 of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (No. 31 of 2001)), of section 21 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 (No. 22 of 1995), Dáil Éireann recommends the appointment of Mr. Justice Garrett Sheehan, a former Judge of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, by the President on the advice of the Government to be the Chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Commission.

I move: That, pursuant to subsection (2)(b)(v) (inserted by section 2 of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (No. 31 of 2001)), of section 21 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 (No. 22 of 1995), Dáil Éireann approves the proposed appointment by the Government of Ms. Geraldine Feeney (being a former member of Seanad Éireann and not being a member of the European Parliament) to be an ordinary member of the Standards in Public Office Commission.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, proceedings in the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on the Finance Bill 2020, where not previously concluded, may be brought to a conclusion by one Question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance or a Minister of State nominated as substitute on his behalf: Provided that such Question may be put from the Chair…

The current system of collective agreements has been in place in the public service since the Croke Park agreement was negotiated back in 2010. These collective agreements have helped to ensure that public pay is managed in a sustainable, affordable and orderly manner. These agreements have also enabled significant reform of public services and changes to work practices. The current public service agreement, the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, has provided for benefits to different income groups, rang…

What I can commit to is that the Government will do all it can to reach agreement. There are significant discussions under way and I am describing them as exploratory in nature. As the Deputy knows from experience, the way these things work is that if the parties feel there is a possible landing zone, they will enter into a more formal set of negotiations. I hope we can get there quite quickly. The current agreement expires at the end of the year. We need to strike a balance in this. We must recognise the immense v…

The State is a good employer, and the State has been a good employer during the Covid-19 pandemic. That is, of course, a reflection of the work our public servants have been doing. We now have a public service with around 346,000 people working within it. As part of the budget which we brought forward last month, we have provided for an increase in the number of people employed across the public service of the order of 22,000, with the majority of those being in the area of health, given the decision we made to per…

I thank Deputies Nash and Mairéad Farrell for their questions. I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 89 together. Section 22 of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 provides that certain designated public officials, the lobbied, are restricted from being engaged in lobbying in certain circumstances for a year after they leave their employment or office, unless they have obtained permission from the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO. In effect, they are subject to a one year “cooling-off” period. The gene…

I thank Deputy Nash for those points. The direct issue which has been raised in these priority questions concerns section 22 and the fact that a breach of that section is a breach of a statutory provision in the Act, but it is not currently sanctionable. I believe that is an issue which requires change. In working on this issue in recent weeks, I have gone back to look at why there was no provision for that within the legislation originally. I have seen remarks from the then Minister, Deputy Howlin, when he brought…

I have read all of that material already and I am of course going to take it into account. I have been looking at what the record has been in the context of how many people have been applying to SIPO for exemptions from section 22. The numbers are quite low, but that does not mean they are insignificant. They relate primarily to special advisers. In 2020, there were six applications. In 201,9 there were two applications for special advisers. In 2018, there were two applications for special advisers. In 2017, there …

I look forward to reading the legislation the Deputies intend to bring forward. Two statutory reviews of the 2015 Act have been conducted. A decision was made not to bring forward any legislative amendments in response to those reviews. In reviewing this particular issue, it is important to look back at the statutory reviews and the other information in the public domain, as well as the advice from the Attorney General. There is a need for balance. We need to have a situation whereby people feel they can enter poli…

In order to ensure programme for Government priorities are achieved and to respond to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19, it is timely now for the Government to bring forward the previously planned review of the NDP and to consider the most important challenges facing us, including climate action, housing, balanced regional development, healthcare, social welfare policy, transport, education, and the associated resourcing requirements. As one of the work streams of the review of the NDP, the national investment o…

The key objective is to introduce a degree of external assurance for major projects. As part of the review of the NDP, we are producing a range of research and technical papers, which will be published before the end of this year or early next year. That will feed into the process of adopting a revised NDP in the second quarter of next year. In essence, we are proposing an independent peer review of two key stages in the project life cycle for major projects, specifically, when the preferred delivery option is chos…

There will be a specific paper on this issue, which will be one of the outputs from phase 1 of the review of the NDP. In broad terms, I am a strong believer that time spent at the project preparation stage is time well spent, by ensuring the project has been comprehensively appraised and assessed, that the potential pitfalls have been identified in advance and that the design work is essentially complete. We are proposing that, at key decision points in the process and before we press the final button and commit si…

I thank the Deputy. Covid-19 has had a profound effect on our citizens and the Government has taken significant steps to cushion the impact of the crisis on households and businesses. Expenditure Report 2021 outlined the significant additional resources allocated to Departments in response to Covid-19. At that time, gross voted expenditure of €87.1 billion was estimated for 2020. This represents an increase of €16.7 billion relative to the allocation set out in the 2020 Revised Estimates published last December. Th…

I thank the Deputy. Moving to level 5 has had a significant impact on the public finances. The number of people on the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment has increased by more than 100,000 in that period and currently stands at 350,000. The weekly payment rate has gone from approximately €66 million per week at level 3 to €104 million per week under level 5. Some of that is accounted for by the reinstatement of the €350 per week rate, but the move to level 5 and the extra 100,000 recipients have had an impact. …

I thank the Deputy. As he has rightly said, the impact on various sectors of the domestic economy has been acute. A breakdown of the profiles of recipients of the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment shows that the largest number of workers comes from the accommodation and food service sector, which accounts for approximately 103,000 people. It is followed by wholesale and retail trade, accounting for approximately 57,000. Other sectors such hairdressers, beauty salons and so on account for approximately 31,000 r…

I thank the Deputy for the question. With a view to increasing the transparency of the budgetary process and to facilitate meaningful dialogue on key elements of the budget, over the past number of years, a range of reforms have been implemented to enhance the budgetary framework and ensure that expenditure is managed in an efficient and effective way. These reforms feed into a year-round budget cycle, which allows for ongoing scrutiny of the budgetary process supported by the provision of useful information. Adopt…