Results 44,881-44,900 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: This is where it gets slightly confusing because the fund administrator is administering a fund which is made up of public funds, of which a significant proportion came from the health sector, from the public purse. That raises two questions. Dr. McLoughlin has answered the question as to why he was consultant but, staying with my first question, why did he travel on these trips when he was...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. I do not mean to be pedantic, but the witnesses have to stop saying that this would be a matter for SIPTU, rather it would be a matter for the fund administrator or for the people administering the fund because the Comptroller and Auditor General has identified that, to the best of his knowledge, that there is no evidence to suggest that SIPTU had any-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: A retired health official was going on foreign trips with other health officials and HSE officials, paid for out of this fund, a large chunk of which was made up of public health funding. Did any of the officials at any stage, anecdotally or from an audit point of view, think it was a little odd that they were all going off on a trip to Georgia, paid for by the taxpayer, and that a retired...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Okay. I have no issue with either Dr. McLoughlin's answers or Mr. O'Brien's answers but the issue is that they are not in a position, through no fault of theirs, to answer some of the questions because they were not in situ, but that is the frustrating aspect of this. If we are to get to the bottom of this, having spent dozens of hours of time on it - the time of the Comptroller and Auditor...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank Mr. Heffernan for that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: That is a very fair submission.

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Are they different from the controls in place previously? Are they new controls?

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: SIPTU officials will testify that I am not known to be their defender generally. I have had my own public disagreements with the union, but I found the evidence given by its general secretary to be honest. I do not believe SIPTU as a corporate entity was aware of this. It was misused as a vehicle for the misspending of public money by senior officials who have serious questions to answer...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Were they Dr. McLoughlin's predecessors?

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: There might not be, but I find it utterly unacceptable that at the time the Department felt it was appropriate to use hard earned taxpayers' money to continue to send people abroad on study trips. There is no point in answering a question or an accusation that is not being levelled. I am not accusing anybody in the Department or the HSE of maladministration, but I need to know, as does the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: I am reassured about the current position by the comments of Dr. McLoughlin and Mr. O'Brien, but this is a retrospective committee. We are mandated to look backwards and examine the Comptroller and Auditor General's work. As an example, I refer to the trip to Georgia between 13 and 20 March 2008. I am dealing with abbreviations, but to the best of my understanding, there were six people on...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank Dr. McLoughlin and Mr. O'Brien for being here. While I accept the honesty of their statements to this committee, it is regrettable, and perhaps unavoidable because they were not in situ, that they are not able to answer the questions and get down to the nitty gritty as this committee and the Irish public want. To concur with Deputy Nolan, I cannot accept, nor can people watching...

An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Deputy Healy referred to what he believed were the Government's broken commitments. That is ironic, given that the legislation before the House was a commitment by the Taoiseach in his capacity as leader of Fine Gael before the last general election and by him, the Tánaiste and the Fine Gael and Labour parties in the programme for Government. The commitment was to hold a referendum. ...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: I have a question for the Comptroller and Auditor General. My understanding is that his office identified a sample of 56 individuals who had received payments and with whom it wished to speak in order to complete its work. Our colleagues in SIPTU have indicated that 40 people contacted them, but only 11 got back to the Comptroller and Auditor General's office. Will Mr. McCarthy confirm...

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Can Mr. McCarthy quantify the information deficit or gap this created in his investigation?

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Did one of those 11 transactions involve the payment of a college grant?

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Paragraph 3.14 of the report mentions a payment amounting to €6,900.

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Is Mr. McCarthy satisfied that of the 11 recipients who got back to his office, the payments made to them were in line with the aims and objectives of the scheme?

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. It seems that the more we look into this matter, the greater the information deficit that emerges. My remaining questions are for the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health. I also thank Mr. O'Flynn for his assistance.

Public Accounts Committee: 2009 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 37 - SKILL Programme (Resumed)
2010 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 41 - Partnership Arrangements in the Health Service
Special Report No. 80 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Administration of National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund (20 Jun 2013)

Simon Harris: I do not wish to labour the point but can Mr. McCarthy elaborate on the specified purposes for which the cumulate amount of €264,000 was paid?