Results 1,621-1,640 of 3,333 for speaker:James O'Connor

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: You are coming to it but you are taking your time. My time is running out.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: What is in that report must be fairly damaging.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I must get a sense of this. Would it not be better for the university to deal with this report substantially and, effectively, draw a line under it and take the consequences?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I take into account what Professor Mey said, but I stand over what I said. I just cannot see UL being able to move beyond this until the governing authority is briefed on the report. I am not a legal expert; far from it. I am not claiming to be one but, from a political and transparency point of view, that is not a legitimate excuse for the public.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: Okay. I will come back in the next round.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I will take up some of the points made by Deputy Verona Murphy. I am a little disturbed by the lack of clarity from the UL governance team about whether this protected disclosure was made. Surely that should be instantly on the witnesses' minds, particularly the president's, given the seriousness and gravity of the matter. I want to confirm that Professor Mey is aware the protected...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: No, not a public disclosure. This is very important. Was Professor Mey aware that a protected disclosure was made in relation to the Dunnes Stores site? It is a very serious question, and it is a yes-no answer. She is entitled to say no. Please answer the question. That is astonishing. Chair, that is astonishing. I have a herniated disc and I would be on my feet right now if I had...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I am sorry, I am not. I am just-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I am at a critical point in my questioning and I need to clarify what I was saying, because it is a strong statement I made. That is the perception of what the public and the media see with what is going on here today. It is mystifying why the governing authority cannot be given the full report. It suggests, and I am open to correction if I am wrong, that it would put a legal onus on the...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: Is there a rationale for that legal advice?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I appreciate that.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: We might just leave it there because time is limited. To get back to my original point to Professor Mey, this will continue to snowball until someone in the university takes a decision to deal with it. It is not going away. We are not going away. So why will Professor Mey not just give the governing authority the report?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I genuinely do not think she has.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: Ultimately, whose decision is it? Is it the president's?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: No.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: Who makes the decision?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: She does. You could not make it up. If it was not so serious it would be laughable. That is the point. I genuinely cannot accept that, and nobody here should.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: It reminds me of that scene from "The Simpsons" and the mystery box. That is the problem.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: I am seeing this from a PR point of view, and for the reputation of the university. UL is a fine university and a fantastic centre of education. However, from a governance perspective, the harm and damage the university is doing by following this course of action is doing incredible reputational damage to UL, and to the good people in there too.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: University of Limerick (18 May 2023)

James O'Connor: Maybe that will be the outcome. It will have to go to court. The Chair cannot interrupt me here because my point is lost. It is a very important point.