Results 2,301-2,320 of 7,061 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Supply (28 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is disgraceful that in 2023, the residents of Clare Island are still dealing with water outages for up to two weeks at a time. They are still unable to get any commitment from Uisce Éireann on when the necessary upgrades will happen. The most recent continuous outage lasted a full ten days, with some parts of the island affected by disruptions for 14 days. Water outages are a very...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Water Supply (28 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: There is a real problem here, and we need to take a grip of it, first with regard to Uisce Éireann and the local authorities. I do not think that people would accept it, nor would the Minister, if there was an area here in Dublin without water and having water outages as often as these communities do, particularly the one we are talking about here tonight, Clare Island, and also with...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Private Partnerships (28 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 49. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the analysis that has been conducted on the impact of the increasing reliance on public private partnership and leasing contracts and the potential impact of public finances into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52368/23]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Expenditure Policy (28 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 58. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to reduce the over reliance of the public sector on private consultants making particular reference to the requirement of public bodies to report consultancy fees in their annual financial statement under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter....

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Defective Building Materials (28 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 331. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the repair of local authority homes affected by defective concrete blocks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52209/23]

Report of Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motion (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is the timing.

Report of Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motion (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, but it is the timing of the selling of the shares.

Report of Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motion (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is not easy at all. It is complicated.

Report of Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motion (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Cathaoirleach of the finance committee, Deputy McGuinness, for his work and for the work of the committee on the report on banking. The report predates my time on the committee but I want to indicate my support for the general assessment and the recommendations in the report. The report is rightly critical of the banking sector for this historic damage to the economy and for its...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I will concentrate my questions on the DPP. Why is the funding for the DPP not included in the budget itself? I understand a letter was sent to the Minister last year laying out what was necessary for existing levels of service to be continued but also with regard to what needed to be done. Let us start with that question.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The letter referred to an extraordinary increase in the number of investigation files being received and the significant additional responsibilities being placed in the office, both in terms of volume and complexity. It pointed to a 41% increase in the caseload between 2017 and 2021 and increasing demands on the office, particularly around financial crime and corruption. Is it fair to say...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: On the office being demand-led, which areas of the DPP's funding are and are not demand-led? Does the demand-led cost eat into other areas of the budget? I ask the Minister of State to give us a picture.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What I am trying it get at is whether, because the work of the office is demand-led, that is eating into the other expenditure that is not demand-led.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I certainly welcome that. The picture painted was that the DPP had been underfunded for some time. That should help to address the gap in some way. The fees for counsel, as the Minister of State said, seem to be the key driver of the demand-led costs. In 2020, the DPP stated this subhead was significantly underfunded. The Minister of State is saying that is no longer the case.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is the Minister of State saying the DPP is adequately resourced to go after the extent of corporate crime and corruption it is dealing with?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Sexual offences are another area the DPP stated would suffer as a result of underfunding. Has the sexual offences unit been adequately resourced since the DPP wrote that letter last year?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, that would be really good to give us the picture that the DPP is adequately funded now, as opposed to when the letter, explaining the seriousness of the underfunding issue and the necessity for those working there to keep up with the demands of the office overall, was written last year. I thank the Minister of State.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: There must be a lot of heat in the Taoiseach's office-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: -----maybe not so much light. I wish to ask about the shared island unit. I commend the work that has been done, particularly in the area of research with the ESRI. What further research is planned for this year under that heading?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is it just the three that are planned for 2024?