The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, has informed me that he has personally visited all of the areas that suffered from flooding and he would like to thank the Deputy for raising this issue. A steering group, comprising of representatives from the Office of Public Works and Kerry County Council, is already in place to progress a number of schemes in County Kerry, including the Kenmare flood relief scheme. Earlier this year, Kerry County Council appointed three additional technical and administrative staff to su…

On the appointment of consultants by tender, it is scheduled to issue a request for tenders to the engineering and environmental framework in October, with the appointment of a consultant in the first quarter of 2021. On the completion of the Kenmare flood relief scheme, following the appointment of a consultant in early 2021, the programme for delivering a flood relief scheme for Kenmare will take a number of years, contingent on planning approval. Once planning is in place, the construction of the flood relief sc…

As the Deputy notes, the Minister of State has visited Limerick city and other areas where flooding has occurred. I thank him for raising the question of the status of flood relief schemes in Limerick city and its environs, including Coonagh, King's Island and Castleconnell. As the Deputy knows, the Minister of State is very familiar with the areas in question. On 15 September, in the company of officials from Limerick City and County Council and the Office of Public Works, he visited Coonagh to view the area where…

I apologise as I am replying on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, who has good reasons for not being here. I am really not qualified to answer the Deputy's question so I will need to revert to him directly if that is all right.

I thank all the Deputies who made constructive comments and suggestions about public expenditure during this debate. It has obviously been a very difficult year. Deputy Naughten suggested that An Post should be able to deliver public services in the same way that it delivers its traditional services, which is a position that I think everybody supports. An Post and its workers shone during the pandemic. It showed itself to be a vital public service. It continues to deliver not just letters and parcels, but public se…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: "notes: — that 19,638 Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSV) are registered with the National Transport Authority (NTA) in 2020; — the 3,059 taxis and hackneys which are wheelchair accessible, with many people relying on these daily; — the very important services taxi, hackney, local area hackney, and limousine drivers provide as part of the public transport system across Ireland; — the important contribution that SPSV driv…

As outlined by the Minister, the Government has taken significant action to support our key public services, particularly the health service, and to provide funding for workers and businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The estimated cost of these measures is approximately €16 billion. This leaves overall gross voted expenditure for the year at more than €86 billion. The first phase of the expenditure response to the Covid-19 pandemic involved significant additional funding for the health service to support …

I commend the Deputy on his energy and diligence in bringing forward this Bill but it is not a proposal the Government can support. The Government is established, appointed and regulated in accordance with the Constitution rather than statute. This is confirmed in Article 28.1, which states that Ministers are "appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution." As such, it effectively appears that this Bill attempts to add a further ground to the procedures for the appointment and re…

I have heard the contributions of the Deputies and I thank them, in particular Deputy Nash for outlining his personal experience as a Minister of State who did not retain his seat and his feeling that the last place he wanted to be was back in the Dáil. I also thank Deputy Gannon for his contribution. Something that struck me was the reference by Deputy Tóibín to the lack of accountability that a Minister would have where that Minister was not planning to run for election again. Deputy Tóibín described a situation …

As Minister of State with responsibility for public procurement and eGovernment, I am very pleased to introduce the 2020 Estimates for the Votes for the Office of Government Procurement and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, OGCIO. The Vote for the OGCIO, Vote 43, is new and has only been established this year. As Minister of State with responsibility for eGovernment, I am pleased to lead the continued digital transformation across government and the implementation of associated strategies thro…

Deputy Nash asked about any new financial controls or reforms that may have been put in place. He referred to the national children's hospital. He is absolutely right to ask that question. There was a gross overspend in respect of the national children's hospital. We have a substantial number of large capital projects planned, by which I mean those valued at more than €100 million, under the national development plan. I have no wish to see a second national children's hospital-style event take place. With that in m…

I thank Deputy Farrell for her question. I will give her the written answer and then she can ask questions to follow up. As Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform I have responsibility for the development of policy to ensure adequate expenditure oversight on capital projects and for public procurement. The public spending code is the set of rules, procedures and guidance developed to ensure value for money in public expenditure. It sets out the oversight and approval process for public…

It is much more than a review and report, which would be inadequate. The Deputy is right to refer to the PwC report from last year. Its analysis was that the national children's hospital involved a substantial overspend and it pinpointed an underestimation of cost. It made two recommendations. One was that we need to strengthen the rules of the public spending code. Further, it stated that we needed an independent, external review of large projects at every stage, all the way through the project life cycle. There w…

I confirm that the recommendations of the PwC report will be implemented. The shortfalls that were found will be addressed. With regard to who is responsible, the sponsoring authority that wanted to propose this project is the Department of Health. The body that sanctioned it, the approving authority, was the Government. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform provides the public spending code and advice and help to anybody who is undertaking large projects. The PwC report indicated that it was not enough t…

I thank Deputy Grealish. Strategic public procurement can play a key role in responding to societal, environmental and economic challenges. Therefore, the inclusion of strategic public policy considerations in procurement processes is a key feature of the programme for Government. The Office of Government Procurement, OGP, has been actively engaged in putting in place the necessary process and policies that are designed to encourage SME access to public procurement opportunities. In this regard, the OGP developed c…

I take the Deputy's concerns on board. I met the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, at the start of my tenure and discussed this issue with him. He impressed on me the importance of the SME advisory group and that there was a perception that it was difficult for SMEs to get contracts despite the fact that 54% of the contract value awarded by the OGP went to SMEs. We must keep engaging with SME representatives and ask them what we need to change. I am told that, from the previous engagement, it was clear that they…

I have an open mind. I am new to this position and am willing to review with the OGP the €25,000 threshold and any other existing condition to ensure that SMEs have a fair opportunity to win contracts. I want to engage in communication, education and anything that we need to do in order to train people up, advise them on why they are not winning contracts, and ensure that the process is fair across the country and SMEs have a fair shot in competitions with larger companies and internationals. If there is any way th…

I would like to sincerely welcome Deputy Stephen Donnelly to his new role as Minister for Health. In opposition, he was both insightful and constructive. I hope and expect that the Minister will bring that insight and expertise to the continuing reform of our health services. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the previous Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, for his service. The real character of a man is sometimes revealed when he is under stress and the stress was unique during the pandemic. We a…

I would like to start with a question about queuing in emergency departments. The acute hospitals emptied during the pandemic. There was a determined effort to make space available in case of a surge, the discharge of patients into long-term residential care was encouraged and funded and meanwhile patients were not admitted because they were not presenting for fear of catching coronavirus. That has changed. It is now reported that nine acute hospitals in Ireland are full, including St. Vincent's University Hospital…

Given the recent history, people in an acute hospital are naturally reluctant to be discharged to long-term residential care. That is now more true than ever. A particular problem arises with discharges. Elderly people are sent back to live with other elderly people. Someone who is cocooning will worry that somebody coming from the hospital may have coronavirus. It has become very difficult to discharge elderly people from acute hospitals. That will add to the pressure on emergency departments. Is there a plan to d…