Results 521-540 of 2,211 for speaker:Paul Connaughton

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: I welcome the delegation. On public private partnerships, the Secretary General indicated they deliver between 5% and 10% better value than other ways of completing waster and water projects. Given that the Department does not carry out value for money assessments on plants until after they have been completed, how can it be sure it is securing savings of this magnitude?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: The public-private partnership approach has only been used in recent years to develop wastewater plants. Are wastewater plants still being constructed using the traditional approach?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Considering the savings the Department believes public-private partnerships will deliver, does it lean towards the PPP approach? Why would the traditional approach be selected if greater savings and efficiency can be achieved by means of public-private partnerships?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Taking into account all the factors Ms Tallon outlined, what is the timeframe for completing the process from the moment a local authority decides a wastewater treatment plant must be built until it works with the Department?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: It can take five years from the moment a contract is started until it is completed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: On the Environmental Protection Agency and the level of compliance in respect of certain waste management plants, why was data from 2008 and 2009 only published in 2012? What was the reason for the delay?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: How quickly will this be done given what occurred in the past?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Why did five plants not submit any results to the Environmental Protection Agency? How were they able to get away with failing to provide results? What is the current position regarding this information?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: What are the implications for those five local authorities that did not submit any information to the EPA on the water treatment plants, or are there any implications for them? What are the consequences for that not happening?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Of those five that did not submit information have they submitted that information now?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Is there no local authority that has not submitted that information at this point?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: To go back to the point once more, for those who did not submit the results, was there a financial implication for those local authorities or any penalty or punishment for failing to do that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: Is it intended that there would be in the future? If local authorities are not compliant to the strictest of levels is there any intention to change that position into the future?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: I understand that but considering that we are asking primarily rural dwellers to register their septic tank to help with the safety of water management, does the Secretary General not believe that those people would expect local authorities to perform to an extremely high standard? That five local authorities did not submit results is shocking for those people.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: As of today what is the total number of septic tanks registered in the country?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: What is the total number of septic tanks expected to be registered?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: How many of those were registered in the first three months when there was a discount?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: What is the closing date? What is the last date for registering one's septic tank?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: What is the Department doing to continue to publicise the fact that one must register for those who have not done so?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 16 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities (6 Dec 2012)

Paul Connaughton: If after that time there are people who have not registered their septic tank, what is the next legal action?