Results 2,481-2,500 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: How many of the preliminary findings of the 12 have been finalised at this stage?
- Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Why does it take that time period? He mentioned 2021.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: I thank all the officials here today. I will open with the Grant Thornton report. Paragraph 2.2(g) states that "The Director General was not involved in the drafting, signing or implementation of this agreement (being the Tri-partite)". It would be set out and I am asking for a list of everyone involved in the drafting of that agreement and everyone involved in that agreement. It is...
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Can we have the names of all the people involved in that?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Okay. You might send that on to us in writing.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: I move onto the issue concerning the €75,000. I address this question to Mr. Collins regarding the invoice. If someone is acting as a consultant, are they not obliged to charge VAT on the fees they levy?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: No, the standard invoice would have a VAT component. Am I correct?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: When the invoice was received in RTÉ's accounts department, how come further clarification was not looked for on this aspect?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: What is the scenario in relation to VAT in that case?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Were you aware of the detail of the invoice, because these were described as "consultancy fees"? Surely any invoice would set that out. I have been involved in business for 30 years. Mr. Collins is a qualified financial adviser. Surely just having "consultancy fees" is not a sufficient description on an invoice? Would Mr. Collins accept this?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Was there not a duty then on Mr. Collins's part to raise a query regarding what these consultancy fees were for?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Okay. Let us go on.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: How many more invoices went through like this where there were consultancy fees marked down?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Have you looked at other accounts where the description "consultancy fees" was used and those invoices went through the system without anyone raising questions?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Is it not time to do such a detailed analysis if this is the-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Every other business in this country has its invoices robustly checked. I refer to any organisation. In a large organisation that is also a public service broadcaster, there is even more of an onus to cross-check everything that comes in.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: Yes. It is a slush fund. If we look at the definition of "slush fund", and I got this from Black's Law Dictionary, it is "A reserve of money held secretly by a company that [had] no accountability for its use". This is exactly what we are talking about. This is a slush fund, so let us stop talking about it being a barter account.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: There was very little accountability about the money going into it.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)
Colm Burke: You are in charge of the internal controls system. This is money going from RTÉ to a barter account where you do not even know what the money is for. Am I correct?