Results 4,761-4,780 of 32,837 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: What recommendations have not been implemented? In January 2016 the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine made a number of recommendations. Have they all been implemented?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: No. Have all the 12 recommendations been implemented?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The first recommendation by the committee was the compilation of an up-to-date economic assessment of the industry, including a full breakdown of staff and so on, in order to accurately reflect the current state of the industry. Was that done?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: So that was not done. That is a serious recommendation. Of the 13 recommendations, the first one has not been implemented. What else has not been implemented?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I cannot accept this and I will tell Mr. Meaney why. It is because I have so many reports before me. The problem was that the recommendations were not implemented. Had the Dalton report been implemented and acted upon in 2006, or any of the reports been acted on, we would not be in serious trouble. I am specifically asking the witnesses about this but I get an answer that they have been...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Please, my time is limited. Has that recommendation been implemented?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Subject to the Chairman, and to be fair to the witness, I have only so much time. That was a recommendation and even I, who had no knowledge of this, now realises what it means. Was it implemented? I understand that it was not. I want to be fair to Bord na gCon. I understand the witnesses have a legal letter relating to a certain dog winning a race.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Let me finish please. I understand the recommendation is not being complied with and I understand the witnesses have received a letter from a solicitor in regard to a certain dog. That is just one example. I do not want to detour because of time constraints but I want an answer. Has it been complied with?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I have seen that. I have seen the draft legislation. I have seen the proposal to remove this measure. The existing legislation obliges Bord na gCon to comply with that two year rule and it has not complied. Bord na gCon is allowing dogs to race illegally. Is this correct? These are dogs that have been bred using the semen that has been held for over the two year limit. They are taking...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I do not think that is the position.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: No, we will not be able to consider that now. I am asking the questions in regard to it. Bord na gCon was obliged, under existing legislation or regulations and it is still obliged. New legislation came in from a certain day forward but it was not retrospective.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Okay. For those dogs caught prior to this new legislation - I believe it was November 2014 - is it the case that Bord na gCon is not complying with that?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. Gleeson is now helping the evasion and the obfuscation. It is a simple question. Up to 2014 Bord na gCon was obliged and was not complying and the two directors have confirmed this. I will leave the implications of this to the people who were affected by it. I am sorry if I am doing something wrong-----

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I apologise to Mr. Gleeson if I have said something wrong. Sorry.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I apologise to Mr. Gleeson but I am conscious of time and the Chairman has said 15 minutes. It was said by two people already. The point I am trying to get at is the existing law is not being complied with. I leave that for the directors to face and the people who are affected by it. I am going to move on now to the-----

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I was only starting.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon: Financial Statements 2015 (Resumed) (18 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: We should have a little bit of leeway because on the last occasion there was enormous leeway, so just a little bit-----