Results 5,161-5,180 of 10,862 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: It is signed off on by either Mr. Walsh or Mr. Hyde.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Going back to Mr. Walsh's role in all of this, I asked whether he had read the transcript. I would have thought that, as a matter of course, if I was up before the Committee of Public Accounts and I made a declaration on several occasions in respect of an issue - in this instance that cases are assigned on a randomised basis - the first thing I would have done when I went back to the office...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: You did. In one instance, there was a situation, as the Chairman correctly outlined, where inspectors' reports were increasingly being disallowed or overturned by a board in respect of a particular type of development at a huge scale. This was unprecedented, as far as I can make, out in terms of the board previously having made decisions. Mr. Walsh had a couple of reasons. He was making...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: As we approach the recess, and in advance of September, I welcome the fact we have got this progress report, but it omits the core issues on which this committee wants to get a handle, namely, how much this hospital is going to cost us in the end and whether we can be assured of the timeframe the board has informed us of. The fact the Department and the board are refusing to divulge that...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I fully support Deputy Murphy on that and I also support the recommendations of the Chair. It is crystal clear to me that we are going to have to consider whether our work plan in the autumn includes another hearing with the board and the Department. It is not technical. This is a substantial issue. If there is a situation where, as I mentioned previously, the board and the Department are...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I welcome the correspondence. This is an issue that will become more prevalent in our work because the budget for retrofitting is going to increase as the climate action plan takes hold. It would be useful if we could get clarification from the Department on a number of issues, including the reallocation of €40 million of the carbon tax fund from retrofitting to the purchase of gas...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: There is a wider issue because if a stove is removed and a new heating system is just put in without ensuring a full retrofit takes place, including insulation, one can understand why people might not necessarily be too enthusiastic. However, if it is done as part of a full retrofit, people will take the opportunity. If their stove is taken out to put in a gas boiler, they will naturally be...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Yes, within the local authorities. That must be the first move we make.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: It does, but it generally responds to parliamentary questions saying it is a matter for each local authority.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: That was the point on which I was going to come in. I want to link it to the ongoing conversations we have been having regarding the national paediatric hospital. Up to this point, it appears that no lessons have been learned, even from the debates we had around the signing of the contracts, which many people continue to feel will have long-term repercussions in itself. Even the fact that...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: It would be helpful if we were able to find out the cost of the private hospital that is being built in Spain that will cater for the people we are shipping over there because of the health services. I imagine it will probably compare fairly favourably with the pharmacy we have in Dublin. This committee has a role to play and this follows on from Deputy Catherine Murphy's point. We need...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is what I would propose.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is a good idea.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I completely agree. I would argue against having health-related matters two weeks in a row. It is the body of work that takes the most time to prepare for. Will we be asking the Accounting Officer from the Department of Health to be present at these meetings?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: We have written to him on a number of occasions requesting information on the waiving of his salary in 2021. Has he ever responded?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: On the next occasion the Secretary General is due to come, I ask that we inform him in advance that we will be asking him about it.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I will rephrase my proposal. Can we write again to the Secretary General asking him to clarify the position regarding the information we have requested?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: We can indicate that in the event he cannot clarify it in writing, he will be asked about it. It is not necessary for us to spend time discussing it. On his appointment, he issued a public statement indicating that he was waiving a portion of his salary. It is entirely legitimate for the public to know for how long he did so. It is not acceptable that he has not answered the questions.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: That warrants a hearing in itself.