Results 8,901-8,920 of 10,878 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (13 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I am not suggesting that there has been corruption. I am asking whether Mr. Walsh can see how there is a need for greater accountability and transparency with regard to these types of decision?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (13 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I am just dealing with what we have, which is An Bord Pleanála. I want to ensure the public can have absolute confidence. If three members of the board sit to adjudicate on a case and two decide to overturn a previous recommendation while one does not, this creates the potential that had it been a different three members of the board, a different decision might have been reached....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Common Security and Defence Policy (13 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: 56. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the position regarding the approval of EU funds for the European Defence Fund. [25128/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: 118. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the expected completion date with regard to the new building for a school (details supplied) in County Monaghan. [25120/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: 154. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that have been taken by her Department to ensure that capacity will be available in school transport for all applicants in 2021/2022. [25119/21]

Loan Guarantee Schemes Arrangements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: It will come as no surprise that Sinn Féin welcomes any opportunity for investment for small businesses, and particularly for those in our farming community, who as one would expect, are going through a period of quite considerable anxiety. They face plenty of challenges over the months and years ahead with the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and climate action developments. All...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (12 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: 253. To ask the Minister for Health if he has considered allowing using risk assessment for the venue specific to the marriage to inform the number of guests that can attend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24851/21]

Europe Day: Statements (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: My experiences of Europe Day have been a bit strange. I must admit that before I was an MEP, I did not even know that such a thing existed. When I was in the European Parliament I often found it bizarre that European institutions treated the day as if it was being marked on every street corner and in every community centre in each member state. MEPs would gather in Strasbourg where the EU...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: Not to repeat what has been said, I agree with Deputy Munster that this requires further scrutiny. Looking at the expenditure per student, which is slightly higher for the Mayo campus than it would be for the main campus in Galway, it appears that there is a black hole somewhere and a lack of strategy in terms of resources for the Mayo campus. It would be prudent if we were to follow this...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I second the Chairman's proposal. This is just an indication that the OPW is a very weak negotiating position because it finalised a contract under which, as Deputy Munster noted, the Irish taxpayer is footing the bill for a very serious if not elemental mistake made by the OPW regarding this building. It is not good enough to say that this type of meeting cannot take place on the same basis...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I will briefly address the response by the Department to what I consider to be a very appropriate recommendation, that is, that delays within the Department of Education would be explained. Members are aware of countless anecdotes of build delays in every county. These delays can be the cause of significant consternation and frustration for local communities and boards of management. The...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I wish to address the 2019 procurement review. I am really frustrated by the manner in which this line of correspondence with the HSE is going. It has been asked by the Committee of Public Accounts on several occasions to clarify the status of this procurement review, which was apparently paused in 2019, and address whether it was actually cancelled. This correspondence indicates that the...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I will comment on the last point. The delay with this particular investigation in respect of the infamous Templemore funds is frustrating. I understand it is a live investigation so I will not say anything more in that regard. I will also comment on the apparent contraction in respect of the level of staff in place. It might be a consideration for us to invite GSOC representatives...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I will not stray into the commercially sensitive issues at all. Following on from our interaction with the SBCI, I had asked questions on the agricultural cash flow schemes in terms of regional breakdowns and where loans were issued. I also asked about the plans for that scheme or similar schemes in future. I wonder if we could correspond with the body again to ask for an update in that regard.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I will be as brief as possible but this is a very important issue. A private company has received substantial funds for carrying out a service that is not actually being delivered, namely, the doctor on call and out of hours service in the south. The committee members may recall that Deputy Thomas Gould had corresponded with the committee on the impact this is having on the Deputy's...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: It does not explain why we have been paying for this service for several months now without the service being delivered.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: Acknowledging the Chair's point that we have not yet received a substantive response, I agree with Deputy Munster that the figure of the settlement that was already concluded with Revenue should have been available on the day. This is the Committee of Public Accounts, we were talking about the finances of an organisation and there was a specific line of inquiry. I expect we will receive...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: I have one final point on RTÉ and an additional piece of correspondence. This week the BBC initiated a new programme where it publishes the external gigs or work carried out by its employees and journalists. In the interest of transparency, it is a very good practice. It would be appropriate if we were to write to RTÉ asking if it had any plans to do the same. It would create...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements and Accounts (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: On the advice of the Chair, I will keep it very brief. It would be useful to know if a review of the previous procurement process and an appraisal of the previous service were carried out prior to advertising a new procurement process. Could we have clarification on that?

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2021)

Matt Carthy: 104. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions his Department has taken to address the backlog of passport applications arising from the closure of services due to the pandemic. [23884/21]