Results 4,641-4,660 of 32,837 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: In the context of 65 million people being displaced, the biggest displacement since the Second World War with thousands of people dying in the Mediterranean, I would have expected a slightly more human document, one which put the situation in perspective. We have rights and obligations under international law. This is not a charity. We have signed up to international documents. We put...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I do not know why Mr. Waters jumped to that point. I did not say anything like that. I am specifically talking about the people in direct provision and about how difficult it is for those families who have been in direct provision for a very long time, in restricted accommodation and with limited choices for food. I am simply saying that it is very difficult for them.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: There is an onus on us to reduce the period of time within which they are in these conditions.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: As a result, the Mahon review made 173 recommendations and I am asking how many have not been implemented. I am not talking about policy decisions or failures on our part but areas which are the Department's responsibility.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I take back that word. Which ones has the Department not implemented?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Listen to me, Mr. Waters. The biggest difficulty with direct provision has been the silence and lack of information around it. My experience as a councillor in Galway was of a process mired in secrecy. One way of helping would be for the Department to say which ten or 15 measures are outstanding.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That is great.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I was a local politician for 17 years and was there when the first asylum seekers came, in 2000 and 2001. It was mired in secrecy. Under freedom of information we found that millions of euro was paid one month in advance but without any details.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: One could not canvass in local elections as one was not given access and there were all sorts of rules and regulations. There was a huge impact on people's lives and their mental health and a great number of people suffered. They had eating disorders. They want to work and do not want our charity. They want their case to be processed as quickly as possible and a decision made so that they...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That is for another day and I will not go into that. Mr. Waters is justifying the system, which is of concern to me. He says it is a matter of policy but the policy was forced, every step of the way, because of inhuman conditions. Can he give me a list of recommendations that have not been implemented? One was a diversity champion in An Garda Síochána; another was an annual...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I could offer more anecdotes as I had exactly the same experience in Galway. Moreover, another politician was allowed to bring a bus to a direct provision centre. We could provide anecdotes until 10 o'clock tonight but these cases give an indication of how people in direct provision are treated. There should be complete clarity surrounding the rights of residents of direct provision...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. Waters is the person in charge of the Department of Justice and Equality.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am fully aware of that and that the Department has enough on its plate and certainly does not need any more burdens. It also has many other issues to look into. I am familiar with the position in Galway, where there is a major housing crisis. I cannot see people in direct provision who receive refugee status getting out of direct provision any time soon. I raise a practical one and ask...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: For example, do such persons have access to unemployment benefit?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Is that regardless of whether they are still in direct provision?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I want clarity on the issue.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The Department must have clarity because it has residents staying in direct provision and needs to know to what they are or are not entitled. I am not blaming the Department but simply seeking clarity on the matter. It seems my understanding is correct and such persons cannot draw benefits or access the housing assistance payment. They are, therefore, caught in a Kafkaesque scenario.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: One in six of those who are in these circumstances do not move on and the onus is on the Department to find out why they are not moving on. For this reason, I ask the witnesses to provide clarity on the issue. On another issue, access to university was raised. I understand there was a pilot project introduced in this area.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Could the witnesses provide the committee with the results of the pilot project in writing?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Good.