Results 8,801-8,820 of 20,088 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Transport: Motion [Private Members] (25 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: The proposals Sinn Féin have are for a detailed plan for a reliable public transport service. If we want people to use public transport, however, we first need to provide the proper infrastructure. I have raised the issue of bus shelters many times. Borris-in-Ossory and Castletown on the R445 need bus shelters. I raised this issue numerous times with the NTA and the Department. They...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: I welcome everyone to the meeting. Apologies have been received from Deputy Matt Carthy. If attendees are contributing from within the committee room, they are asked to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and others from risk of contracting Covid-19. Members of the committee who are attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of the Parliament. This is due...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: I welcome Mr. Moloney back to the committee. As set out in the invitation, he has five minutes. I know his statement is quite long because I read it yesterday evening. Could he please summarise it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. Moloney. The first speaker is Deputy Carroll MacNeill. She has 15 minutes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is Mr. Moloney concerned that, with rising rents and in the absence of rent controls, any increases in HAP will just be chasing the higher rents? I know that is a policy issue but does Mr. Moloney have a concern in that regard?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is a challenge but does Mr. Moloney have-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: There is more than €1 billion in rent subsidies this year. Does Mr. Moloney have a concern that, without rent controls, it will be a case of just chasing rising rents? Does he envisage that figure ballooning further?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: When the caps were changed previously, rents increased significantly. There was a spike in the weeks thereafter.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: As €230 million is such a large sum of money, should that have not come back before the Oireachtas?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: It was moved without any Oireachtas oversight or with the engagement of an Oireachtas committee.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: I am sorry; could Mr. Moloney please repeat that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay, I thank our witnesses. We will break then resume in ten minutes sharp to continue the meeting.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: The next speaker is Deputy Colm Burke.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: On the oversight and control public of spending code the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has, we are in a situation now where we have a fairly large national development plan with many big projects being rolled out. There have been some substantial infrastructural upgrades done over the past number of decades. In that context, I wish to ask about cases where there may be a level...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: The head of the CCPC has raised concerns about issues like this, although not necessarily cases like the ones to which I am referring. Mr. Moloney is not aware of what happened in Spain, but does he know how many PPPs the five Spanish companies in question are engaged in?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: It has been publicly reported. Dragados, which is a part of the ACS Group, was fined €57.1 million, FCC Construccion was fined €40.4 million, Ferrovial Construccion was fined €38.5 million, Acciona Construccion was fined €29.4 million and Obrasco Huarte Lain was fined €21.5 million. The sixth company, Sacyr Construccion, was fined €16.7 million....

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: The chairperson of the CCPC, Ms Isolde Goggin, has discussed fears about potential rigging of public procurement contracts. She has sought a more sophisticated data system - I will come to the Department's role in a moment - to monitor for potential abuses. I understand that the CCPC is currently examining the waste and motor sectors. She outlined that the CCPC was relying on...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: I am not saying that there has been collusion.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: The context of my questions is that we have many PPPs, we are getting a great deal of infrastructure built and there are sizeable contracts out there. My understanding is that Dragados was partnered with BAM on both of the contracts I mentioned. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

Brian Stanley: One of the other companies, FCC Construccion, was fined €40.4 million by the Spanish regulator. It had the contracts for the north runway at Dublin Airport and the widening and retrofitting of the M50. I am just flagging that. Am I correct in saying that there were four bidders for the national children's hospital?