I am unsure whether the Deputy is advocating that people would work for four days and be paid for five days or would work for four days and be paid for four days. In any event, there are real consequences for key parts of our public services. Let us consider teachers for example. Is Deputy Boyd Barrett suggesting that schools would only open for four days per week and not for five? We need to think about the implications this would create for families, childcare issues and so on. Other front-line services, includin…

I would not like to accuse the Deputy of trying to cut people's pay. He put the question in the context of the public service only but this issue has to be examined in the round, for the private sector as well. I am sure he is not suggesting one treatment for public servants while people working in shops, factories and offices would continue to work a five-day week-----

We would still have taken the question. The Deputy said there were nuances and complexities, and there are very real ones, such as the example I gave of schools. Does he suggest they should open for only four days a week? This is an issue that would benefit from social dialogue. We need to put a new structure in place to facilitate a full dialogue involving civic society, with employers, the public service, unions and other important stakeholders.

I acknowledge the extraordinary response of our public servants and their organisations to the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. We can all be proud of the great work that is under way during this unprecedented public health emergency. A number of reforms that have been introduced under the Government’s public service reform agenda, such as the build-to-share ICT infrastructure, the progressive digitalisation of services, a streamlined and centralised Government procurement system, shared services and central…

At this point, our public service has never been larger. The Deputy is right that there were major cuts to numbers at the bottom or in the trough. These left us with approximately 292,000 public servants and we now have about 343,000. Recruitment in recent years has been essential to keep pace with demographic changes and undo some of the cuts that were imposed during those years. We face great challenges and we are determined to continue with a programme of recruitment. In the overall context, this has to be done …

I acknowledge that over the past six months, in particular, some public services have been under huge pressure and some have simply not been able to operate because of the extraordinary circumstances we are all living through. The numbers speak for themselves, however. The number of public servants has increased significantly and across the board, including in our health service, where we have well over 120,000 people working. The winter plan we unveiled will involve additional recruitment. This year alone, we are …

The Deputy has waited patiently to contribute. The response to the Covid-19 crisis was swift, with many civil and public servants transitioning to working from home at very short notice. This was an unprecedented action but it was entirely necessary to ensure the health and well-being of staff across the system was protected as best we could. Most Departments and offices, including my Department, would have had remote access solutions or systems in place and issued mobile devices such as laptops and tablets before …

I thank the Deputy and agree with his initial point. Remote working brings certain opportunities for the regions and for individuals it may open career opportunities that people thought may not be possible. A degree of remote working is here to stay and we must think about what is the right balance both for the employer, the public servant and the public services being provided. There is also the issue of cities if large numbers of people are not based in or working in them. I will take up the matter of maintaining…

I will be sharing time with the Ministers of State, Deputies O'Donovan and Ossian Smyth. I welcome the opportunity to open this debate and to set out from the Government's perspective the very significant response that has been made to the evolving situation regarding Covid-19. As we all know, the onset of this pandemic earlier this year has had an enormous impact on society and on economic activity in this State. The rapidly evolving nature of the public health situation required the previous Government and the ne…

I move: That, notwithstanding Standing Order 215(1) or (2) of the Standing Orders of Dail Eireann relative to Public Business, the following Revised Estimates for the Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2020, be presented to the Dail and circulated to members on 28th July, 2020, being a date later than that prescribed for the presentation of Estimates: Vote 7 — Office of the Minister for Finance ( Revised Estimate ). Vote 8 — Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General ( Revised Estimate ). Vote 9 …

I thank the Deputy for her question and congratulate her on her appointment and look forward to working with her. On the commencement of every Dáil, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issues guidelines setting out the arrangements for the staffing of ministerial offices. The guidelines for the 33rd Dáil currently await Government approval. Appointments to the position of special adviser are made in accordance with section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997 which states that the Government may…

I thank the Deputy for her follow-on question. There is always transparency as to the persons who have been appointed and the salaries they are paid. We will continue with that transparency. The details will be published in the normal way. That cannot happen until we have adopted a formal Government policy on the appointment of special advisers. A memorandum will be brought to Government shortly to formalise this issue and to get Government approval for this policy. All the details will be published in the normal w…

Whatever we do will be fully in accordance with the relevant 1997 legislation. The rates of pay of any adviser appointed will be governed by that. It is principal officer level for Ministers’ special advisers and assistant principal officer level for any special adviser appointed for a Minister of State. The very issues and policies the Deputy has highlighted underline the need for a really good Government, one that is going to invest in the people, is going to underpin the income supports people have and is going …

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes and for his question and look forward to working with him over the term of this Dáil. He has put forward a really good question. I will read the official answer and look forward to engagement on any particular issues he may wish to discuss in the course of this debate. Covid-19 has been an unprecedented public health emergency with implications across the economy and society. For that reason, there has been a whole-of-Government response led by the Department of the Taoiseach …

I thank the Deputy for raising those points. One of the issues that will have to be considered by Ireland and by Europeans in general is whether we should reduce our reliance on other countries such as China for the provision and manufacturing of essential items that could be required in the event of the pandemic becoming more serious. We need to become more self-sufficient in respect of critical services and goods for our economy. That is a key issue that I am determined that my Department will play a role in tryi…

I thank the Deputy. The point he has made about essential supplies and securing the supply line is really important. We will need to reflect carefully on it as we further develop our economic response to Covid-19, because those challenges could emerge again. Not just Ireland, but many other countries were faced with that reality where much large-scale manufacturing has moved to the Far East. A dependence has built up and it is a lesson for the entire European Union that needs to be taken on board and put into effec…

As the Deputy will be aware, departmental structures are currently being revised. Work on putting the new structures in place is being implemented and involves the drafting of transfer of function orders. It is expected that this work will be completed in the coming weeks. In addition, legislation approved by the Government on 13 July will come before the House later this week. The purpose of this legislation is to establish the new Department of higher education research, innovation and science. Hence, I propose t…

I move: That, notwithstanding Standing Order 215(1) or (2) of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business, the following Revised Estimates for the Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2020, be presented to the Dáil and circulated to members on 30th June, 2020, being a date later than that prescribed for the presentation of Estimates: Vote 1— President’s Establishment ( Revised Estimate ). Vote 2 — Department of the Taoiseach ( Revised Estimate ). Vote 3 — Office of the Attorney Gen…

I support this Estimate in that, fundamentally, it provides a legal basis for the continuation of all of the expenditures within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. I do, however, want to raise, as others have, the specific issue of women who are returning to work from maternity leave and who are currently unable to access the wage subsidy scheme. It is an issue at which the Minister, the Department and Revenue have been looking for some time. We have all put forward proposals to end this di…

I will use my time to put a few questions to the Minister and I ask him to respond concisely so we will get through as many as possible. On the issue that has arisen about women returning to work from maternity leave not being able to access the temporary wage subsidy scheme, my question is whether it can be fixed on an administrative basis by Revenue. Does it require a change in primary legislation to fix the issue?