Results 4,901-4,920 of 26,402 for speaker:David Cullinane

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Regional Airports (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: 299. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if any of the additional €10 million for regional airports provided for under the programme for Government will be spent on extending the runway at Waterford Regional Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20218/16]

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: As a new member, I found the Comptroller and Auditor General's presentation very helpful. I commend the Chairman and the Vice Chairman on their roles and wish them well in them over the next number of years. We can have both options when it comes to getting information to the committee. We can get the information in the way the committee got in the past but we could get a hybrid version of...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: It would be helpful if a note could also be sent to us on the work that was previously done by the Comptroller and Auditor General and this committee on PPPs. I have a separate question on off balance sheet expenditure and models such as special purpose vehicles that are being increasingly used. What is the Comptroller and Auditor General's role and what potentially could be our role in...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: Two issues have jumped out at me in terms of the minutes on the review of costs associated with undelivered capital projects. My first issue is the national paediatric or children's hospital. It says that, in terms of the Mater site, there is post-project review being carried out by the Department in consultation or with input from the HSE, and with external support from the Department of...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: I wish to refer to the first note and a separate issue, namely, the significant level of non-competitive procurement. That was a sample of the overall expenditure. How big was the sample?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: I am not asking about the value but the overall size. What was the percentage of overall procurement?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: This is a sample, and it is indicated that, in respect of 30% of the sample, there was a level of non-competitive procurement. Of that sample, the value is €29.6 million. Some 30% of overall procurement in the health service would amount to hundreds of millions of euro.

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: That is surely serious because we are talking about very lucrative contracts. If they are not competitive, it warrants much more scrutiny and investigation by this committee. It was Mr. McCarthy’s job to analyse a sample but, given that it has shown up a very high level of either non-compliance or failure, including systems failure or whatever it is, we now need a deeper picture of...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: The fact that it has been reported on, that there has not been much of a change and that 30% is very high as it is involves one in three products means that this is not good enough and we must come back to it. I argue that when we discuss the work programme later, this is an issue to which we should return. The committee has dealt with it before, but we must come back to it because the...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: I wish to revert on the procurement issue. I accept the Chairman's statement that the Department of Health will appear before us in the autumn, but it would also be useful to have a comparison with other Departments. If we are discussing 30% non-competitive procurement in a sample in the health service, how does that compare with other Departments? Is it similar, better or worse?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: If it is exceptional, that means that there is a problem.

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: It reinforces the need for us to deal with the issue in a more profound way.

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: I have a question on the institutes of technology. My understanding is that a number of institutes have significant deficits. We need to consider this matter, as some of those deficits amount to millions of euro. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, is working with them on putting containment plans in place and so on. Some are involved in the process of becoming technological...

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: Will the Comptroller and Auditor General comment on the number of institutes that are in deficit? How sustainable is that?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: Would spending 85% of an operational budget on pay be considered high?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: Institutes of technology have expressed that there is a difficulty or a potential difficulty in terms of a going concern. By and large, their revenue comes from the Government, which makes them dependent on the Government to keep functioning as a going concern. I understand that the number is five. Some have greater deficits. Unfortunately, Waterford is one such.

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: We were speaking to the audited-----

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: We were dealing with the audits, but I accept the Chairman's point.

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: Is the Chairman seeking ideas for shaping our work programme beyond the autumn?

Public Accounts Committee: Work Programme (7 Jul 2016)

David Cullinane: That is fine.