Results 5,381-5,400 of 10,862 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Absolutely.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am sure the ambulance service could be tied into the emergency departments and their management.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: They are connected.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: We should ask the Secretary General, as the Accounting Officer, to come in.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: It is part of the role to account to the Committee of Public Accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I welcome our guests. We send our best wishes to the Secretary General and hope he makes a full recovery. Will Mr. Conlon give an update as to when the Department expects to make a recommendation to Government for a new special envoy to the UN for freedom of opinion and expression?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I heard Mr. Conlon outlining the new process earlier. This time last year the Department told us this was an incredibly important position for Ireland and our international reputation. Is Mr. Conlon saying there are no current plans to make a recommendation?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Thanks for that. I will talk about services, particularly passport services, but I believe the consular services offered by the Department of Foreign Affairs are among the best that any Department provides. I have had to engage with them on various occasions, always in a panic on behalf of somebody and have never had a complaint about them.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: On passports, I agree with what others have said. When the online passport works, it works incredibly well. I renewed my passport online when I realised it was almost two years out of date. Probably because I am aware of it from dealing with so many people, it was done within a couple of days. When it does not work, it can cause huge difficulties. Ms Byrne mentioned the public offices...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: What is Mr Conlon's definition of "imminent travel"?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Before Ms Byrne comes in, the difficulty is you are on the website, have put in the details for an appointment and the next appointment you can get for a four-day turnaround service is 14 July. I would like clarification if weekends are included in that four-day turnaround. If they are, you would receive the passport on 18 July. That is not imminent. If you want to make an appointment for...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I will give my experience from dealing with quite a number of people. I have never seen earlier appointments for a four-day turnaround than when somebody first goes on. The date will generally move a day every day and is usually in the timeframe we are taking about, which is in two weeks' time. According to everything we have heard, if it is a renewal application, you are wasting your time...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: We get all that. Does Ms Byrne accept there is a difficulty in cases where people need to make on-the-day appointments? We all accept the online system, when it works, is much better than what was in place but I remember that, as a lad in my 20s, two days before I was supposed to fly out I realised my passport was out of date. I was able to walk into the building just up the road and walk...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Unfortunately, I have to take that as a "No". I have limited time and want to deal with the issue that has arisen, particularly in my office. I qualify everything I am saying by saying people should not have to visit or contact their politicians in order to get passports, but many people feel they must because of the experiences we have heard. People understand that politicians can ring and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: May I interject? There must be and must continue to be a mechanism whereby we can talk to humans. Most of the stuff can be dealt with online, but most of the time when we ring on behalf of people it is because they cannot get the full information and because the only way it can be found is by talking to a person. I appeal that, whatever happens, there is a system whereby people can make...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: The percentage should be similar to that for the South.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: Has the Department been examining it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: I ask the Department to look into it in greater detail because it is hugely important.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: The Department could employ some new staff and put them in a northern office.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (30 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: 57. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applicants from County Monaghan for the school transport scheme in 2021 and 2022; the number of late applicants; and the steps that she has taken to ensure that a space is available for all students in September 2022. [34780/22]