Results 6,121-6,140 of 20,062 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Department of Education and Skills (21 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I thank the witnesses for joining us and providing information. We are trying to work under the guidelines. It can be difficult at times for members as well as witnesses, but we must try to manage the situation carefully. I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General for attending and assisting the committee. Is it agreed to request of the clerk to seek follow-up information and carry out...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: We are joined remotely by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. McCarthy, as a permanent witness to the committee. He is welcome. Apologies have been received from Deputy Munster. We will now engage with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I welcome them to the meeting and thank them for the briefing they provided to the committee. There are a number of...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. McCarthy. I invite Mr. Watt to make his opening statement.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I thank Mr. Watt for that information. The lead speaker this morning is Deputy Burke, who will have 15 minutes. We are working to a tight timeframe in order to keep to our schedule. I ask witnesses to try to keep their answers to questions direct and concise in order to be helpful to members.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Deputy MacSharry has five minutes, and I will give him a reminder.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I ask Mr. Watt to be careful in answering that question or referring to any specific case.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: The witness should not refer to any particular case.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: We do not want to prejudice a case or a case that may be pending.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I ask the Deputy to allow Mr. Watt to finish his answer.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Deputy Carthy can come back in on the second round.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I have a couple of questions for the Secretary General. On the broadband plan, I am aware the contract has been signed and that Mr. Watt was before the communications committee. He and I, in addition to other members of that committee, had a discussion about the plan at the time in question. Mr. Watt expressed his concerns at the time. His belief was that the proposed project posed an...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Will there be communications between the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and Mr. Watt's Department at the end of each year to check the milestones and to ask what is happening?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I appreciate that. Obviously, Mr. Watt knows the concern we have as elected representatives. It is an important contract and service. Covid has really shown that we need to get broadband rolled out to get people working from home, including remote locations. According to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's PPP tracker, at the end of 2019 the State was tied into some 30...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Has there been a review of the M7–M8 Portlaoise bypass project, and has it been published?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: There was a very detailed contract set out at the time. I raised questions at the time about it. I would appreciate if Mr. Watt could revert to me on that. I am really asking about the overall costs, the up-front costs for the taxpayer, the maintenance costs each year and what is collected in tolls. Is there a final payment, or what is sometimes referred to as the bullet payment, at the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Deputy Dillon has another question.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: I have one final question for the Secretary General. With regard to the public private partnerships, PPP, does the Department know what percentage of the PPPs go over budget or take longer than expected or fail to be completed? Mr. Watt might give a brief answer if he can.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: What is the percentage that go over budget? Is it common? Would it be one quarter?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: Has the Comptroller and Auditor General received any of the post-project reviews that have been carried out? Has any of them been forwarded to the Comptroller and Auditor General?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 11 - Office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Accounting for Capital Assets
Chapter 5 - Accounting for Allied Services (22 Oct 2020)

Brian Stanley: We will bring the Secretary General in on whether he has received any of the post-project reviews of PPPs.