Results 5,461-5,480 of 21,440 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I want to know from the Tánaiste specifically what he will do in this budget for people experiencing fuel poverty - those families who cannot pay their bills. What will he do about the fuel allowance and the smokeless fuel support payment? People hear the rhetoric about the "bigger picture" that the Tánaiste delivers that we are on the receiving end of global forces, but that is...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: They are two distinct things.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: For those who cannot meet their bills, the fuel allowance-----

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: What about the fuel allowance?

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: What about the fuel allowance?

Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: It is almost eight months since the Taoiseach's apology to the survivors of the Magdalen laundries and several months since the establishment of a very limited form of redress for the women concerned. To date, however, not a single cent has been paid out. I have raised this issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality with a view to establishing not just when the moneys will be paid but...

Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: There is no legislative proposal on this matter. We could debate whether there should have been such a proposal, but I am raising the issue now because I am not getting answers anywhere else.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Resolution Processes (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: 15. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason banks relied 62% on legal letters to meet the Central Bank’s MARTs; and if he will review the targets and the definition of a sustainable arrangement. [41506/13]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Correspondence (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: 37. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will release the letter of 19 November 2010 from Jean-Claude Trichet; and if this letter will be made available to any banking inquiry. [41520/13]

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: Given Mr. Watt's fondness for babies, I am tempted to ask him to contact the relevant Ministers and ask them to reverse the decision to tax maternity benefit and to leave child benefit alone-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: Yes, those are policy matters and would therefore be deeply inappropriate for me to raise. I welcome the witnesses. I want to return briefly to the Haddington Road agreement, so that the committee has clarity on the figures. Mr. Watt cited a saving of €1 billion a year on pay. What are the cumulative savings over the lifetime of the agreement?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I raise the issue because there are two different ways of expressing the saving in real terms. One could say that once the saving of €1 billion is made it recurs naturally because those moneys will not be restored and count it year on year, or one could also say the total savings from the agreement amount to €1 billion.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: Will Mr. Watt clarify for the committee whether the savings are net or gross? He has alluded to some of the uncertainties in the scenario.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: We will have regular reviews to see how we are getting on and we can drill into the figures at that stage. I want to raise again the national lottery issue with Mr. Watt and in doing so I take account of the sensitivity around the fact an announcement is imminent. Mr. Watt will be aware that a number of staff were An Post employees on permanent secondment. As I am sure Mr. Watt is aware,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: The difficulty is that the situation is not at all hypothetical.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I would appreciate it. So we are absolutely clear, my understanding is the transfer of undertakings regulations will apply to these staff as and when a new operator, whoever that might be, comes into place.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: The difficulty with this is it does not address a fairly basic issue for those members of staff who were An Post employees and have their contract of employment with An Post. They were seconded, and my understanding is - and I would appreciate Mr. Watt clarifying this matter - no provision has been made for those employees who might wish to return to an Post to do so.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I understand these matters will not be put to ballot. Perhaps this is not a question Mr. Watt can answer or a matter he can decide. It seems extremely dubious that staff who were seconded and were employees of An Post would not be granted a facility to return to An Post, their employer of origin, if they so wish. It is a source of deep concern for the employees. They are angry about it...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I would appreciate it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 7 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Vote 42 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 12 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 13 - Procurement without a Competitive Process (3 Oct 2013)

Mary Lou McDonald: I would appreciate it. I expect the Department would have a view on the legal position and the legal status of these employees.