Results 6,481-6,500 of 20,068 for speaker:Brian Stanley
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland (15 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: 68. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the way in which the anomaly in the SUSI grant criteria can be corrected by which applicants who started third level education living with their parents as a dependent but are now married are still being assessed as a dependent child. [41285/20]
- Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland (15 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: 88. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has carried out reviews of the criteria for SUSI grants regarding the definition of a dependent child and when they become an independent adult with their own home during the same third level course. [41286/20]
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: No apologies have been received. We have the minutes of the recent meetings from 2, 9 and 10 December and they have been circulated. Are they agreed? Agreed. As previously agreed, the minutes will be published. I now propose that we go into private session to deal with some housekeeping matters before resuming in public session to deal with accounts and statements laid before the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Deputy MacSharry wishes to raise an item from last week.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: I was not here last week but I am aware of the case where a judgment was made in favour of a former worker in the Prison Service.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: My views on Standing Order 218 are well known. I agree with what has been said about it imposing a stricture on us. There are two issues with the Standing Order. One interpretation is that it is there to prevent us from discussing matters that should properly be before another committee, such as the health or justice committees. That is fair enough. From my perspective as Chairman, I do...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: I agree with the Deputy. Of course, we do not want to restrict ourselves in terms of examining the finances or accounts of any organisation or Department where public money is concerned. The point I am making is that sometimes another committee may want to look at an issue from a different angle. If that committee invited a witness before us, we are not going to get into a jostling match...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: We have come back to Standing Order 218 so we need to make a decision about what we are going to do about it.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: I do not know but we can get the answer.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: There are two separate strands here. We can decide on Standing Order 218 in a minute but a specific issue was raised relating to last week's meeting. Clarification has been sought as to whether the issue was specified on the invite and the answer is that we must check back. We will get clarification on that in the coming days. There is some uncertainty around it at the moment. It is...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: We meet very intermittently.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: I do not want to misrepresent the chairpersons of the other committees but to be honest, this has not become an issue for them.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Yes. The only committee that this will restrict is the Committee of Public Accounts. Our hands will be tied behind our backs in situations that are already arising, as was predicted. I suggest that we meet the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA. Let us face it, there can be a lot of jostling and tussling when people from different political parties and none are involved but on...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Absolutely. Initially, we should seek a meeting with the OPLA. Members of the Committee of Public Accounts who are also members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP, should flag this as an issue at the next meeting of the latter committee. They should indicate that we will be seeking to change it.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Deputy MacSharry was also a member at one stage.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: He lasted for a day.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Back in August, I looked at the legal brief on what came out of the Kerins judgment, which other members may have seen too. To be honest, Standing Order 218 goes completely off that in terms of the work of this committee.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: We have had cases where they have sought the protection of the Chairman not to answer a question and I have had to indicate to the member to try to put the question in a different way to get around that issue.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Yes, and I have done that as well. There were a couple of cases in the last few months in which I had to do that. I do not mind doing that but I would rather if I did not have to be creative about it but had the right to do it.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (16 Dec 2020)
Brian Stanley: Yes.