Results 7,081-7,100 of 26,042 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is 30%. That means 70% of bodies in the main do not provide their audited statements-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: ----to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: To whom are they to give them by 30 June?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: That means that 70% of bodies are not presenting audited statements to individual Ministries at the current time.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: With due respect, I came from the private sector. There are constraints in many private companies in terms of meeting deadlines. The Chairman will be well aware of this. There are small companies which cannot meet their filing requirements within nine months and run the risk of being struck off. Suddenly, there is a situation where taxpayers' money is tied up in various bodies. I am not...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Six years.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: They are different.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: With due respect, when we see things being filed late, invariably they are VECs and various different bodies. They have reasonable budgets and I have no doubt the bulk of them have in-house accountants. This is basic corporate governance and meeting deadlines. The worry is the same application of deadlines which are applied by the State to private companies is not being applied in the same...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is it that it all happens at once?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: The difference is that if a private sector company does not meet its audit filing deadlines there are consequences but it would appear that for public bodies in a similar situation, there are very few, if any, consequences. If persistent problems arise every year with audits, they need to be highlighted. It is incumbent on us as a committee to ensure that this happens. The budget is drawn...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: There is a major issue there that must be highlighted. Our remit is very simple. We are charged with ensuring proper accountability vis-à-visthe public purse and taxpayers' money. When I talk about taxpayers I include unemployed people who pay VAT, for example. I refer to every person who is walking the streets and is spending money. We must get to the root of this problem. It is...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Why is that?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: And consultants.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Professor Keane is providing the Deputy with some wide-ranging information.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. In the context of personal identification, has consideration been given to the budget that will be required and how long it will take to put the system in place?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: If, for example, a patient presented to the accident and emergency department in St. Vincent's hospital in Dublin after previously attending the university hospital in Limerick, what would typically happen? Would the doctor on duty pick up the phone to ask the Limerick hospital to provide the notes?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: How long would that typically take?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Would the patient be waiting in the accident and emergency department until the notes were provided?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: If the ordinary person whose medical card has been pulled goes to a GP or local pharmacist, he or she will be told on the spot that the card is no longer valid because a computer system is already in place to gather this information. I am considering this matter in terms of beds, and the case study for me is Limerick, with which Dr. O'Connell will be familiar, and the mid-west hospital...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 83 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Managing Elective Day Surgery (6 Nov 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: In respect of 2013 and 2014, how many procedures might have been moved from inpatient to day patient status and how many beds did this free up? Reference was made to a figure of 66,000 but I do not know the relevant period.