Results 3,161-3,180 of 16,582 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: But not publicly. They would not disagree with it publicly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I am asking the Minister to give me an example of a public servant who has publicly disagreed with a policy that they are asked to implement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The national children's hospital is now seen by many as a monument to maladministration, unfortunately. The Taoiseach, who was the Minister for Health at the time-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I will ask two questions at the same time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Taoiseach, when he was the Minister for Health at the time, said that "short of an asteroid hitting the planet" the national children's hospital would be built for €700 million by 2020. It is amazing. He did not have the insight that Deputy Durkan had at the time, unfortunately. I see myself as a left-of-centre political activist and I believe in the State being very involved in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister was going to complete his policy response to Deputy Durkan and then maybe address some of my questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: We are talking about good governance. Think of any club, company or organisation which proposes that a project will be built. This was supposed to be for €700 million by 2020 and we are here now talking about 2025 and potentially up to €2 billion. That is mutually exclusive of good governance. This has gone wrong in the length of time and the amount of money. An overspend...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: According to the price that was given by the Minister of Health at the time when it was contracted, there is a radical overspend and change over time. Is the Government's position that there is not an overspend, as one of the Government Deputies said here, or does it agree there is a major problem and that there has been a lack of proper management and governance on this project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I have asked the question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: Is the Minister investigating why? Is the Department investigating the reasons for that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: So why are they not being managed and why are they continuing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: But these claims are still coming and some are still being met.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: And some of them are still being met.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: They are paid for, in other words, by the State.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: And who will adjudicate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: What is the timescale for that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: It is hard to be confident that out of €670 million's worth of claims that any adjudication, conciliation or High Court will land on the €12 million -----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: No, not at all but I think there is a deeper question here in that a contract was issued by the State and maybe the tender allowed for a tender that was under the real cost of construction which means the tenderer might try to recoup the actual costs in claims subsequently. There is a big question around the construction of the tender and the whole process at the start. I am not aware of -...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: I accept that, but I worry that is kicking the issue into touch for two or three years for political purposes. That is my worry about that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Secondment: Minister for Health (22 Jun 2023)

Peadar Tóibín: There is no doubt it is an illogical situation. The last question I put earlier was on the minutes of the board meeting not being published. It is adding to the confusion.