Govt achievements q1 2015

Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Government Achievements Overview Growth & Sustainability have Returned

D / Finance

Achievements

Fastest growing economy in Europe -- GDP rose by 4.9% in the first 9 months of 2014.

The deficit was over €22bn at the start of 2011, but it will be reduced to approx. €5bn by the end of 2015.

In October 2014, the NTMA raised €1bn at a historically low rate of 1.63% for our 10 year benchmark bond. This compares to 15% yields in July 2011.

Budget 2015 reduced income tax & the USC for the first time in 6 years.

Budgets 2012-2014 did not increase income tax & maintained core social welfare Reform

rates of jobseeker’s benefit, carer’s allowance, & state pension.

The gross banking cost of €64bn has been reduced to a net €40.6bn after including the value of our bank stakes, sales to date, and guarantee income.

Primary home mortgage arrears have decreased by 17.5% since June 2013; after the

Investment

Personal Insolvency Bill (Dec 12) & Central Bank’s targets for main banks (Mar 13).

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has absorbed the National Pensions Reserve Fund & has €6.8bn available for productive investment in the Irish economy. €1.19bn of European Investment Bank funding was secured by Ireland in 2013.

Achieve ments

Employment is Growing

D / Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation

Over 80,000 jobs have been created since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012; and 27,700 jobs in the last 12 months.

2014’s ‘Action Plan for Jobs’ contains 385 job creation measures, building on the 500

Reform

measures implemented in APJ 2012/2013. Includes 3 new high-impact ‘Disruptive Reforms’ in entrepreneurship, FDI and manufacturing. OECD says APJ is working.

31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are, for the first time, combining the skills, experience and resources of Enterprise Ireland, County Enterprise Boards and Local Authorities to act as first-stop-shops to support businesses seeking info & support.

Investment

Construction 2020 is a cross-government strategy with 75 actions aimed at tripling housing output and creating 60,000 jobs by 2020.

Over €800m in additional credit available to Irish SMEs through the establishment of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).

‘Employment and Investment Incentive’ scheme can now be used to raise €5m p.a.

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Government Achievements Overview

Achievements

The Public Sector & Politics are being Reformed

Update: Q1 2015

D / Public Expenditure & Reform

Public service numbers have been reduced by 35,000 (or 10%) since we came to office, exceeding the 30,000 promise in our 5 point plan.

The Exchequer pay bill has decreased by over €3bn from €17.5bn in 2009 to €14.1bn in 2013 (net of Pensions Related Deduction).

Implementation of PeoplePoint, the Civil Service HR/Pensions Shared Services Centre is now serving over 15,000 employees across 13 organisations and saving €12.5m/yr.

Reform

The Haddington Road Agreement will save a further €1 billion by 2016.

National Revaluation Programme making commercial rates system more responsive.

Reduced rates on community sports clubs: only pay on income-generating buildings.

Legislating for the regulation of lobbyists, protection of whistle-blowers and

Investment

expansion of the freedom of information framework. €2.25bn investment in public infrastructure projects (July 2012). €3.5bn capital investment in 2015, following €210m in additional capital spending announced in Budget 2015.

Restoring our Economic Sovereignty and International Reputation

D / Taoiseach

Achievements

We exited the EU/IMF bailout as planned, without a new precautionary credit line.

The Govt reduced the cost of the bailout by saving €9bn from reduced interest rates and reducing our borrowing by €20bn via extended maturities on EFSF/EFSM loans. €750m in cash savings on the completion of early repayment of €9bn of IMF loans.

Established the 1st Constitutional Convention, which facilitates citizen involvement.

Cost of politics has been significantly reduced: the abolition of ministerial cars, ending of unvouched expenses, and significantly fewer special advisors. Corporate Reform

donations have been effectively banned.

Dáil sittings are up 30% compared to the first 3 years of the previous FF/Green govt.

Civic society & experts can influence Bills in their infancy at a new pre-legislative stage. Committees will play a much stronger role in law-making in future and will be

Invest ment

able to scrutinise Departments’ budgets before any money is spent.

Established a dedicated Minister of State for Diaspora Affairs, allocating €12.5m towards the Emigrant Support Programme and new diaspora projects and initiatives.

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Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Beginning the Overdue Reform of our Health System

D / Health

Emergency admissions are up almost 2% compared to 2013, outpatient attendances Achieve ments

up 4%, and homecare packages are 20% ahead of target.

99% of specialist palliative care patients received beds within 7 days Extension of Breastcheck programme to women aged 65-69 years.

Healthcare associated infections, e.g. MRSA, are down 15% in 2014.

Private Health Insurance Package reform to address rising health insurance prices.

Reform

Establishment of a simple, straightforward and non-adversarial Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme to compensate women who underwent this procedure.

A new critical-care ambulance service to transfer children between hospitals.

Free GP care for children under 6 agreed by government and being implemented.

First increase in funding for health services in 2015 since the crisis; a €13bn budget.

Investment

An additional €35m for mental health services.

New Children’s Hospital has received funding and design phase underway.

Commitment to progress new mental health campus, national maternity hospital, development of primary care centres and community nursing homes.

37 new primary care centres have been delivered since May 2011.

National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) budget doubled to €8.8m in 2014.

Making Work Pay & Protecting Supports

D / Social Protection

Achieve ments

The unemployment rate has decreased to 10.6% from a peak of 15.1% in Feb 2012.

The Live Register (welfare claimants) is below 365,000, from a high of 450,000.

Saved over €1.2bn in the Social Protection budget from 2011 to 2014.

Reform

New One-Stop-Shop Intreo Offices combine access to welfare payments and employment supports. 44 offices are now open and work progressing on a further 16.

New anti-fraud measures saved the State €1.9bn from 2011 to 2013. The new 20142018 Strategy aims to save over €500m through anti-fraud measures in 2014 alone.

Investment

JobBridge has provided 36,000 interns with placements since its launch (July 2011).

Independent research has shown 61% of participants progress into paid employment.

The Youth Guarantee worth €6bn was agreed under the Irish Presidency.

Back to Work Family Dividend (Budget 2015) is making work pay, allowing jobseekers retain €29.80 a week for each child for the first year back in employment.

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Government Achievements Overview

Achieve ments

Delivering 21st Century Teaching & Learning

Update: Q1 2015

D / Education & Skills

Highest ever 2nd level education completion rate of 93%, above OECD average (2012).

First significant improvement in literacy and numeracy in second and sixth classes since the 2009 assessments, following new National Strategy in 2011.

Reform

A new Junior Certificate Programme will be introduced on a phased basis.

New Apprenticeship Council to ensure jobseekers can access employment.

Establishment of an Early Education Advisory Group, to advise the Minister for Education on matters across the education sector, covering children 0-6 years.

70 school projects are scheduled for construction in 2015; 44 new schools at primary

Investment

level, 11 extensions at primary level, 5 new schools at second-level, 8 extensions at second-level and 2 new special schools.

This will deliver over 27,800 permanent school places. Of which 23,700 are additional places, supporting approx.. 3,000 direct jobs and more than 500 indirect jobs in 2015. €28m fund to improve physical infrastructure of schools and equipment / furniture.

1,700 new teachers, resource teachers and SNAs in our schools in 2015.

Bringing Children's Interests to the Heart of Govt.

D / Children & Youth Affairs

Achieve ments

Children’s Rights Referendum gave children explicit constitutional protections.

Terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes published and chairperson appointed.

‘Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures’ is the first national policy framework for all children and young people, from birth to age 24.

Reform

First ever Cabinet Minister for Children & Youth Affairs.

Creation of Child and Family Agency (Tusla), the most comprehensive reform of child protection, early intervention and family support services ever undertaken in Ireland.

Extra funding of €26m in 2015 for Tusla, bringing total to €635m in 2015.

Investment

Pre-School Quality Agenda -- €4.5m to recruit additional pre-school inspectors; establish a pre-school mentoring service; and support staff training.

Tackling Child Poverty -- €30m in 2013-2016 for the Area Based Childhood (ABC) programme, to improve outcomes in disadvantaged communities.

National Children’s Detention Facility -- a further €19m in Budget 2015 for its completion, to avoid the practice of detaining children in adult facilities 4

Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Achiev ements

A Citizen-centred Approach to Justice & Equality

D / Justice & Equality

A reduction in crime in 12 out of 14 categories in 2013.

Quirke Compensation Scheme for Magdalen Laundry Survivors.

Establishment of a new independent Garda Authority in progress.

Currently progressing legislation to strengthen the role and remit of GSOC. The new Personal Insolvency Bill has been passed & the Insolvency Service of Ireland

Reform

established and has approved its first Personal Insolvency Arrangements (PIAs).

The duration of bankruptcy has been reduced from 12 years to 3 years.

Successful passage of Referendum proposal to establish new Court of Appeal.

The British-Irish Visa Scheme will facilitate nationals requiring a short-stay visa to travel freely within the Common Travel Area using a single visa.

Establishment of Charities Regulatory Authority.

Investment

300 recruits to Garda College Templemore. €10 million secured for 370 new Garda vehicles in 2015. €27m for Prison Building & Refurbishment in 2015.

Increase in Garda Vetting Unit Personnel from 93 to 176 (83% increase).

Investing in Transport & Growing Tourism

D / Transport, Tourism & Sport

Achievements

A special 9% VAT rate for the tourism industry was introduced as part of the 2011 Jobs Initiative and has created over 34,000 jobs (RAI); retained in Budget 2015.

Reduced air travel tax to 0% resulting in 20 new routes & 1 million new passengers.

Resounding success of initiatives like ‘The Gathering’ and the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’.

Tourism continues to grow, with overseas visits up 8.6% in 2014 (in first 11 mths).

Reform

The Rural Transport Programme has been overhauled, restructured and placed on a more stable financial footing to protect it into the future.

10% of the public service obligation bus routes are being opened up to competition.

Shannon Airport was given independence, and has increased passenger numbers.

Investment

The N7 (Newlands Cross) upgrade opened in 2014; N11 (Rathnew) is due to be completed in 2015, while work will start on the N17/18 Gort-Tuam project.

Reinstatement of Sports Capital Programme: €40m grants in 2014, €29.1m in 2015.

Preliminary work begun on joining up the two Luas lines; completion due in 2017.

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Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Putting People First: a New Model of Local Govt

D / Environ, Comm & Local Govt.

Achievements

Resolving Ghost Estates: a 65% decrease in the no. of unfinished developments and a 75% decrease in vacant units in remaining unfinished developments (since 2010).

Creation of Pyrite Remediation Scheme (incl. a Pyrite Resolution Board).

Priory Hall Resolution Framework agreed in 2013.

Approx. 2,000 vacant homes returned to social housing use during 2014.

‘Putting People First’ is the most far-reaching Local Govt reform since the 1890s.

Reduction of over 650 councillors (from 1,627), with 114 local authorities replaced Reform

with 31 integrated authorities. More powers for councillors in planning, roads, traffic, housing, environmental services, recreation, amenity and community development.

Introduction of gender quotas for the next General Election: a minimum of 30% of candidates have to be women or political parties lose 50% of their State funding.

Invest ment

New Homelessness Strategy: €55.5m for accommodation in 2015, a 20% increase.

Housing Funding up by 40% to €800m in Budget 2015 Local Authority Construction & Acquisition of Housing Units to quadruple in 2015

Achieve ments

New Infrastructure for Jobs & Growth

D / Communications, Energy & Natural Resources

A next generation postcode system has been contracted. The public will use a 7character code by the end of 2015, with Dublin retaining postal districts numbers.

Successful sale of Bord Gais Energy in Dec 2013, generating €1.1bn.

Reform

Currently preparing a new Inland Fisheries Bill to modernise the overly complicated and outdated regulation of inland fisheries.

Established ‘GeoScience’, a business cluster involving the public and private sectors, to win work overseas and develop natural resources in a sustainable way.

World class (100Mbps) broadband is being installed in all post-primary schools.

Online national map identifying all homes in Ireland published under Nat Broadband Investment

Plan. With State intervention, all homes will have high speed broadband by 2020.

Grid25, a €3.2bn investment, will significantly upgrade our electricity transmission network, which has been neglected for decades. The Govt has established an expert panel to examine undergrounding route options before proceeding.

Energy efficiency upgrades for thousands of homes in 2015 following the Govt’s extra €39m stimulus for the Better Energy Programme.

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Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Achievements

Creating a Sustainable Future for Agri-Food & the Marine

D / Agriculture, F & M

Irish food and drink exports reached an all-time high of €10.5 billion in 2014.

Secured €123m value of quotas for whitefish, amounting to a small increase on 2014.

First EU Member State to gain access to US beef market.

12 new agri taxation measures introduced in Budget 2015.

Investment

Reform

Ireland helped negotiate an end to the wasteful practice of discarding fish at sea.

New CAP includes reform of direct payments; greening components; special measures for young farmers; & the abolition of sugar quotas by 2017. €74m for the Beef sector in 2015, €12m in farm safety, €150m in agri-environment, €20m in dairy sector, €76m marine, €110m for forestry sector. €12.5bn allocated under CAP from the EU & Exchequer over the next 7 years.

Investing in our Culture

D / Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht

Achieve ments

The Philanthropy Initiative provides an incentive to Arts NGOs to seek funding from sponsors. Exceeded all targets & generated over €4 for every €1 from taxpayer.

Established National City of Culture initiative; €6m allocated to Limerick in 2014, allowing over 100 grants to be made to local arts, culture and heritage groups.

Expanded ‘one stop shop’ genealogy portal, www.irishgenealogy.ie, allowing users to Reform

search through digital census data, land records, military archives, Ellis island records.

Published Ireland’s first National Peatlands Strategy (Jan 2014), a long-term sustainable plan for our bogs. It conserves our network of bogs, opens up new turfcutting opportunities for local communities and provides compensation.

175 jobs created and €15m invested in historic buildings through Built Heritage Jobs Investment

Leverage Scheme in 2014.

Protected arts funding in a difficult climate. For every week of 2014, more than €2.3m was invested in arts, culture and film. €4m to be invested in an integrated plan to commemorate 2016, in addition to the €22m capital plan for the Commemorations.

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Government Achievements Overview

Update: Q1 2015

Promoting Ireland's Peace & Security Role

D / Defence

Achievements

443 new recruits to the Irish Defence Forces.

Ireland is contributing 420 Permanent Defence Force (PDF) personnel to 14 different overseas missions throughout the world.

Compiling documentary heritage of the defence forces and making it more available to the public as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme.

Reform

Major re-organisation of the Defence Force (a new 2 Brigade structure) enabling the re-deployment of personnel from admin & support functions to operational units.

Green Paper on Defence published & public consultation undertaken. White Paper

Investment

currently in preparation to provide a policy framework for Defence for next decade. €897m allocation in Budget 2015.

Commissioning of L.E. Samuel Beckett in 2014. L.E. James Joyce expected in 2015, with a further vessel expected in 2016.

Achievements

Restoring Ireland's International Reputation

D / Foreign Affairs

Successful conclusion of Stormont House Agreement containing 75 sections covering a broad range of political, social and economic issues.

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs was the lead negotiator on behalf of Member States in the negotiation of the €960bn EU Budget (MFF) for the next 7 years.

Launch of new strategic staff exchange programme between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and global Irish companies.

Reform

Review of Ireland’s foreign policy: ‘The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World’.

New ‘One World, One Future’ policy (2013), focused on reducing hunger, building sustainable growth and good governance, in sub-Saharan Africa’s poorest countries.

It reconfirms our commitment to the UN target of providing 0.7% of GNP for ODA, when economically feasible.

Investment

Extended diplomatic network to support trade & investment. New embassies in fastgrowing economies of Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta). New Consulates General in hubs of Hong Kong and Sao Paolo, and in tech hub of Austin, Texas.

Ireland is one of the top 20 governments contributing to international humanitarian assistance providing nearly €600 million in overseas development assistance.

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