Results 7,281-7,300 of 34,780 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Should we consider getting external advice in relation to the drafting of these replies? We are dealing now with the new legislation. Everything about it thus far, including the terms of reference and the role of CPP and guidelines on compellability, is all in-house I believe the Oireachtas would benefit from having somebody outside of its employ-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Is this the third year in a row that we have had a comment from the Comptroller and Auditor General on ineligibility of medical cards in the annual report. I saw it last year and the previous one, where medical cards were held by people who were not in the country, who had left or emigrated, and where doctors were still being paid and sending out letters. They may have emigrated but the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: The medical cards issue, three years in a row.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I welcome the witnesses. With regard to the departmental Vote, and following up on the issue raised by Deputy Dowds, in the year under review the road improvement maintenance figure was €1.111 billion. Can we have a breakdown of that between new construction projects funded by the NRA, PPP commitments in respect of the motorways, and maintenance payments? What is the approximate...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Does this apply to the year under review?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: What about PPP projects?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: In terms of new work on national roads, €600 million is a big figure. Is it just a handful of projects?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Yes, or now. I do not mind.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I would like to witnesses to talk about the projects mentioned and, specifically, the Newlands Cross M11 project. It is a PPP, so the Department provided funding to the NRA to proceed with the project. The Department funds major construction projects and receives that through a Vote from the Oireachtas, which works its way through the NRA to the PPP project. What action does Mr. O'Mahony...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I am not suggesting for a minute that the PPP company which won the contract is involved in the black economy. However, PPP companies which win contracts employ subcontractors and in turn those subcontractors often employ other subcontractors and so on and somewhere down the line, the poor guy who is working there is made to seek jobseeker's allowance, is breaking all sorts of laws and is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Can we get a note on the projects we have just mentioned?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I think the issue is there; the problem exists. I have referred to it here in the context of school building projects in the past. Contractors were complicit in this and were actually transporting people to dole offices and back to the sites. I am not saying it is happening on this project but it has happened on other Government projects. It happened on Department of Education and Skills...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: The M1 or the N1?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Did Mr. Mullaney say 70% in Limerick?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: The outcome for Limerick was outstanding. What lessons does the Department draw from that? What is the toll on that tunnel? Is it set at a prohibitive level?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Demand management in terms of trucks means putting obstacles on the roads, like speed bumps, to make it less attractive to use those roads.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I ask the witnesses to provide a more detailed note on the Limerick example. The result is both good and very interesting. A 70% increase in the number of trucks using the tunnel would suggest that price was a major factor. The outcomes for the other areas are less dramatic. To turn to the accounts, I ask Mr. O'Mahony to explain an entry on page 15.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: Yes, on page 15 there is a reference to a commitment regarding a contract entered into on 1 July 2012 for €566.9 million for helicopter services.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: How many years does that cover? What is the annual cost and what is involved?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (19 Jun 2014)

Seán Fleming: I do not see a commensurate figure in the 2012 accounts. Is it there somewhere? Where would one find the comparative figure? The sum of €59 million is for 2014 but how does that compare with two years ago? Perhaps the witnesses can tell me where the comparative figure is or perhaps it is not in the accounts at all.