Results 41-60 of 21,323 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Mr. Kelly can just send us all that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Yes. It is redacted, so I would like to know what the figure is. Just the figure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Okay. The Secretary General said the loss of €5.3 million was a bolt out of the blue, or I am paraphrasing. It says in the email that the capital budget for the project had been agreed at €6.6 million.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: That was the year beforehand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: How was it a bolt out of the blue that €5.3 million-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: I am not sure about the language used in that, if I am being honest and fair as regards the shock element. I think there was an awareness in relation to the scale of this project. My real issue here is about the escalation procedure. In fairness to Mr. Ó Coigligh, in his statement he has apologised, I have to acknowledge that, and he has apologised in a pretty comprehensive way. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Is that not dangerous that pressure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Potentially what Mr. Ó Coigligh is saying is that in fairness to those in the Arts Council they were engaging with the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: They were looking for help. We can all see that in writing. They were looking for significant help but at a certain level in the Department there was capture and no one called halt and no one escalated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: So what Mr. Ó Coigligh is saying to all of us in the committee, and this is new information, is that outside of the information and outside of the fact the Arts Council director escalated this to the Department, and I accept that there is correspondence at various different levels on about 59 occasions, essentially outside of all that there was no correspondence, communication or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: That is bloody well incredible. That would not have happened in my day and I am gone from IT since 2007.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: I am not going to ask the question, "How will you make sure it will not happen again?".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Can I ask whether Mr. Coigligh has any regret regarding the handling of this and the subsequent decision not to reappoint the director?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: I understand that and Mr. Ó Coigligh does not have to repeat it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: I know that but I am asking-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: That is not the question I asked, with all due respect. I asked if Mr. Ó Coigligh had any regret in relation to how this project was handled and the subsequent decision not to reappoint the director of the Arts Council?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Mr. Ó Coigligh still has not said whether he has or has not. He has to answer the question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Do not take this wrong but Mr. Ó Coigligh still has not answered the question. It is fine if he does not but he either does or does not have regret.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Mr. Ó Coigligh did not answer the question but I cannot ask him a fifth time. I could but we would be here all day. With regard to the Department of public expenditure and reform, Deputy Gibney referred to getting something signed off, the structures within the Department of arts and culture, the structures within the Department of public expenditure and reform, and then the separate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Alan Kelly: Okay. That is honest enough.