Results 3,261-3,280 of 32,837 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Are they still due?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: My questions are why they are still due, what the HEA has done about it and what its last response was from these institutions, given the HEA's responsibilities, the fact that it has enough staff and the importance of learning lessons in this regard. The HEA has been in existence for 42 years. Over that time, I understand the Comptroller and Auditor General, from listening to him and...

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: What has the HEA been told by the three universities with financial statements outstanding?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: There are so many plans here, including action plans, strategic plans and so on, one would need years to read them as well as the review of Limerick, the Mazar's review and all these things which I hope to come to. Dr. Love has said he has enough staff. The HEA has a role. Why are they late?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Why are they late?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: It is a legacy issue and it is complex. What about the other two?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Is it a legacy issue that is complex?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That is the type of openness I would like when the HEA comes in here. I would like it to set out the problems it is encountering. Statements that it is improving are not good enough. Of course, it has to improve. We all have to improve. It needs to set out the problems and say why the institutions are late. Let us take another issue not mentioned in the opening statement, namely, the...

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: They have already done it. I am asking about the ones that have not done it.

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The HEA has communicated in writing to them that it wants consolidated accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: They will appear before us. When was the last time the HEA communicated with them?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: They have not done that and they are indicating that there are problems for them in doing that. A separate stream of funding is going into these universities from the State funding and anything else raised in respect of intellectual property. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I asked those questions because as a politician I have to have my statement in by the end of this week. No excuse will be accepted. I must hand it in to show what I did with the money I received. I had to do it in a previous life in respect of value added tax, VAT. We got letters very quickly to take us to court if we did not do it, and rightly so. Third level institutions are shouting...

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: It is the Galway Mayo Institute. There are two institutes.

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Which of the campuses is in trouble?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: In Galway city.

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. Brownlee has acknowledged that a serious problem has arisen from lack of core funding and the numbers of students going up. He is not telling me which campus today. He is taking it as an overall problem. I understand that Mayo is in serious trouble and that the number of courses has been reduced to a minimum and indeed one course has been cut this year in mid-stream. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I have difficulty with that kind of accountability. Mr. Brownlee should be able to tell me what is the position in Mayo. It affects students' lives and families. I understand that courses have been reduced to a minimum. Is that correct or not or does Mr. Brownlee not know?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Is the HEA happy with that sustainable plan? Has it examined it? Does it have oversight?

Public Accounts Committee: HEA - Financial Statement 2015 (29 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: When will it be ready? When will the HEA get sight of that sustainable plan?