Results 16,601-16,620 of 26,731 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: I will get to the improvements in a moment, but for now we are talking about the reports in front of us.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: Improvements will happen in the future.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: The witness looks back into previous processes.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: The Comptroller and Auditor General looks back as well. The purpose of an audit is to carry out a look back. It is not to look to the future and consider what can be improved. While it can make recommendations, that is a matter for the executive and for those in policy. The witness examines failures. Does he acknowledge that, notwithstanding the failures in the organisations, which are...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: Mr. O'Brien was here as a witness when we discussed the Console issue and the internal audit report. One of the exchanges between Mr. O'Brien and me concerned the role of the HSE and whether there were failings. I put the question to him whether there were any failings on the HSE side and he said there were none. I have the transcript here. He said:[I]t is a different thing. We are...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: The point that I made to Mr. Flynn and the context I gave was the Console report because it was so profound. Every one of the findings had a high priority. The report said that the totality of the findings had national implications for the HSE. He was very clear that it points to failings of compliance and enforcement. Internal audit is entitled to have a different opinion from the...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: The witness can answer both if he would like.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: I am not for a moment suggesting that the HSE is not taking this seriously or that as an organisation it has not addressed the issues raised in a serious way. I am simply trying to establish if the HSE, at a corporate level, accepts that there were potential failings in terms of compliance and enforcement. I am not entirely satisfied with the witness's response, but I am entitled to draw a...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: No. The second issue relates to learnings, which are very important. Whether the mistakes are of the funded organisations or the HSE, mistakes must be learned from. In terms of lessons learned, what changes were made in practices, policies and procedures? That is what I want to establish. There is a table on the screen which shows the 19 audited reports which framed the basis of the...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: The Catholic Institute for Deaf People gets €3.7 million of taxpayers' money yet there are all these areas of concern. Can Mr. O'Brien say what is being done about that?

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: I am under no illusions whatsoever that these are not State organisations.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: I understand completely that these are private organisations, that some are community based but receive HSE funding and only a portion of their expenditure is State funded. We understand that is the nature of section 38 and 39 organisations. I am looking at the failures of this organisation initially and I see that they are systemic. They raise very serious concerns across all the areas....

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: What does that mean?

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: After that response I am none the wiser as to what sanction, if any, was imposed on the organisation. That tells me there is a lot of bureaucracy, paperwork and exchanges of papers and emails but I am not hearing about any sanction.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: I will come back to that. Can Mr. O'Brien hold that for a second because I have only two minutes?

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: Mr. O'Brien has answered it.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: He has. He said it is not one of sanction, which was what I asked. He has answered that question.

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: We will get to that in a second. I am looking now at St. Hilda's Services Ltd., Athlone. There are a high number of bank accounts, incomplete accounting records, absence of financial controls, expenditure on gifts and entertainment, poor audit trails for credit card expenditure, non-rotation of board members, salary payments in excess of approved pay scales, contracts awarded without...

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: How much is the total expenditure?

Public Accounts Committee: Report of Comptroller and Auditor General 2016
Chapter 19 - Management and Oversight of Grants to Health Agencies (26 Oct 2017)

David Cullinane: Of the thousands of organisations that avail of this funding we have only a sample in front of us and I have given two examples where there major problems. I am sure the witness will understand that I am anxious on behalf of the people I represent that there is a difficulty in respect of governance, compliance and enforcement where there is an expenditure of €3.7 billion. Can Mr....