Results 2,901-2,920 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Tony O'Brien explained earlier that the HSE accounts are done on a cash basis so between now and the end of the year, the HSE must balance its books. There are roughly seven weeks left in the year. Can these forms be signed off so that the insurance companies can be billed for the outstanding €74 million, with some accelerated payment system put in place so that the HSE does not...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I believe it is approximately 140 days.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: That seems very long.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: To put this in context, the interval is approximately five months. There appears to be some issue regarding proper interaction between consultants and administrative staff so that files are signed off. If that is the case, it must be remedied.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I shall put it another way, then. Is it possible to specifically assign one person within each hospital to ferry the files to the consultants, get them signed off and sent to the insurance companies so that the €74 million outstanding can be claimed?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: With respect, Mr. O'Brien, I do not buy that. The local circumstances are irrelevant. This affects real people's lives.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Okay; I am sorry. I misunderstood the point.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: My question is very simple. What is the timeframe in which these forms will be signed off? The objective should be to get the bulk of that income in before the end of the year so that the HSE can pull back on some of the more punitive cuts it has been required to implement in order to balance its books. Is this going to happen in the short term?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Let us put it out there that they should be signed.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I accept that.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I wish to make a suggestion. The critical difference between the €125 million of accelerated cash and the €74 million is that the latter has a direct impact in terms of both cash flow and cuts. In the current environment, I suggest that the HSE cuts a deal with the insurance companies to get money up front because of the potential impact of the cuts to front line services with...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Agreed.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Presumably the HSE will issue a direction to each hospital to the effect that from an administrative viewpoint there should be cohesiveness in terms of files. I do not especially wish to know what is happening; I simply wish to see the result. I presume once the forms are completed and submitted to the insurance companies, the HSE will actively engage with the insurance companies to find...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: Obviously the HSE will have active engagement with the insurance companies.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Chairman for allowing this issue to be elaborated on, because it is most important. A significant amount of work has been done since our last meeting in this area by the HSE but the issue needs to be driven home. This is taxpayers' money which could have a significant impact on people's lives. I call for every effort to be made by the HSE, people in individual hospitals,...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive - Review of Allowances (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: We will work with Mr. O'Brien on this matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome the Minister and his colleagues. One of the points the Minister is raising at the ECOFIN meeting is the revised capital requirement rules. I ask him to outline his view on that matter and what impact he expects the revisions to have on the capitalisation of our banking system. The Minister referred to the fact that 40% of our national debt relates to the banking system. In that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I raised the issue in the context of the Minister pointing out that 40% of our national debt relates to a banking debt the sovereign took over and which this Government inherited from the previous Administration. The Minister spoke of the knock-on effect of that on the budgetary system. I was just inquiring about the negative impact the bank debt is having on our budgetary position. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Discussion with Minister for Finance (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: As the Minister mentioned the promissory note, what is the interest figure for 2013? I believe there was an interest holiday-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with Civic Society Representatives and Focus Groups (8 Nov 2012)

Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome the witnesses. I have a few questions from my brief reading of the submissions. Reference was made to labour activation measures but how would congress, IBEC and the SCSI envisage they would work in practice? The biggest single issue we face is unemployment. We did not discuss that at length but I am sure everyone would agree it is the biggest single issue. If people come off...