Results 4,621-4,640 of 34,779 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Finally, will the Commissioner explain the role of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in all of this? Is it free for somebody to make a complaint to the ombudsman commission in respect of how this matter was dealt with by the Garda? Is that option there?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: In other words, is there a reasonable possibility - I am not saying it will happen, but it is possible - that this case could be referred to the ombudsman commission?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: My point is that it is possible the process is not yet completed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Does the same prohibition apply in the case of retired personnel?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Perhaps Mr. Callinan will send me a note on that point. I assume it is covered in legislation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: I am not trying to trap Mr. Callinan on the details but merely attempting to follow through on the issues that arise.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: A member of the public then, or a Member of the Oireachtas, if he or she chose so to do, could take this issue to the ombudsman commission tomorrow morning. Mr. Callinan is not saying whether this should or should not be done but that it is possible. Will he clarify that there is nothing preventing an individual from doing so?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: In other words, it is not over yet. Earlier in the discussion, in response to a question from Deputy Shane Ross, Mr. Callinan indicated that the Garda Síochána does not run any informants "off the book". Is he satisfied that the Garda does not pay informers?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Mr. Callinan might be able to offer some insight on a matter which, although it does not strictly come under the Garda Vote, would nevertheless be of interest to the public. Each year, under Vote 15, an allocation is made for the secret service. Last year, for instance, the payment through that account was €515,000, while the Estimate for this year gives a figure of €1...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: I do not want to talk about any of the details or compromise any intelligence. However, I would like to know whether the Commissioner, as the man we all look to as overseer of our police force and its function to protect citizens, or any member of his force, has any involvement with that secret service account? Or is there another person or entity with the remit to make payments to people...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Good. I am happy with that. We will come to that issue separately.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Yes, but can the Commissioner tie in the Secret Service Vote? I know he is not accountable for it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Is this covert insurance, covert security? Will the Commissioner run the name of the organisation by me again?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Is that what we really call, for the purposes of Vote 15, the Secret Service?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Are the people who approve and make and record the payments within the Garda Sfochana?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: That is fine because when we ask the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to talk about this topic, it says it is a secret, which is fine, but the Commissioner is the man who knows something about it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: The Commissioner is being helpful to the public which is important in a meeting like this one.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: I am not criticising the Commissioner; I am just trying to elicit information. I have a few more topics to raise. We all saw an improvement last year in Templemore in Garda vetting when the time shrank from six months to three months and four weeks, but we are definitely seeing a deterioration in the waiting times again. Why? We are all getting complaints again in our constituency offices.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: Some 25 staff.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána (16 May 2013)

Seán Fleming: When does the Commissioner expect to get the figure back down to four weeks? We run into cases in which, for example, somebody is applying to participate in a community employment scheme and wants to participate in a FÁS scheme, but by the time he or she receives clearance the post is no longer available. People are losing out on employment opportunities because of the delay.