Results 4,241-4,260 of 6,653 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What is being done build capacity within Departments, and not only Mr. Conlon's own Department? We should also discuss his Department in terms of not having to contract out everything and just bring in the expertise. What is being done? Does the Department have internship programmes or graduate programmes? What is being done to get the brightest and best into the Department to get value...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The Department brings graduates directly in from colleges for the IGEES. What I am trying to get at is whether the Department competing with consultants or being completely reliant on consultants for answers and problem-solving. What are we doing inside Departments to break away from that reliance, or to not be so reliant?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Are there graduate programmes within that? I always hear about graduates going to the big four and other consultancy firms. Does the Department have means of getting them directly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is something I am looking in to. How many people are in the service?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I know. We might talk about that a bit more another time. At the time the external assurance process was announced, the previous Minister said that this reform was to meet a recommendation of the International Monetary Fund's, IMF's, public investment management assessment of Ireland. As Mr. Conlon said, the document has been provided to us in the meeting and there are many good...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The Minister said specifically that it was to meet a recommendation of the IMF's public investment management assessment of Ireland. I just wondered where in the report it said this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That would be great. In 2021, the Department also commissioned the consultancy firm Ernst & Young to do a report on a capital delivery project. Did the Supporting Excellence: Capital Project and Programme Delivery Capability Review that was produced by EY recommend an external consultant-led assurance process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Leading on from that, did that influence the Department's decision to introduce the external assurance process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: However, the report was carried out. Mr. Meaney can see what I am getting at. Were any concerns raised within the Department that it was relying on recommendations from private consultants to give a greater role to private consultants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I would like to think it is until such time as we build up further capacity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, indeed. I just think there needs to be a greater focus on it. What information and feedback would the Department have typically provided to the approval authority following the technical review of the strategic investment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It will reduce the administrative burden. Is that what is being said?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What feedback does the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform provide from the technical review at the preliminary and final business case stages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What are the anticipated trade-offs in terms of oversight from the perspective of the Department with regard to removing the technical review phases? Is there a trade-off?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: In his opening statement Mr. Conlon said the recent reforms to the public spending code were informed by a number of reports. He mentioned the IMF report and the PwC report on the escalating costs of the national children's hospital. The PwC report on the national children's hospital states that significant failures occurred during the crucial planning and budgeting stages of the project...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Did the national children's hospital go through all three technical reviews in the Department at the strategic assessment, preliminary assessment and final business case stages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Would the recently announced reforms have given the Department greater oversight of the national children's hospital project compared with public spending as it was originally? Are the witnesses saying the situation we have with the national children's hospital would not have happened if we had then what we have in place now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Chair for letting me in again. Following on from that, we know that there was a €1 billion underspend in housing last year. Do we know where the Department is at this stage this year and what happens when the Department comes to Mr. Conlon and says that it has underspent by so much at this time? What is the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is the outcomes. What I am getting back from local authorities is that they have not got a budget to fix a hole in a roof. That is the fact of it. The money seems to be held at a level. I find this across the board in different areas. The money is held nationally but it does not get to them.