Results 8,001-8,020 of 21,498 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: What is Grant Thornton paid to do that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: But Mr. Quigley would have no objection in principle?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Would he see the good sense in the Comptroller and Auditor General carrying out a role like that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: It certainly strikes me that he ought to.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Perhaps "comfort" is not the word, but it would certainly add confidence to the families of those who depend on these funds - some of them for a lifetime if they have suffered catastrophic injury or disability - that a senior officer of the State would actually audit and oversee the funds. I think it is something that we should all personally try to advance. Given that there was no legal...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Yes, so let me correct that. To be absolutely precise about it, barring the need for legislative change there is no constitutional or larger legal issue in terms of the Comptroller and Auditor General carrying out this work.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: In circumstances in which funds are provided to cater for a lifetime of care, which is the intention of the courts in making the awards, how does the Courts Service protect the individuals and uphold the clear intention of the courts? I appreciate that the specific sums are not the decision of the Courts Service. Mr. Quigley said the Courts Service was prudent in the management of the funds...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I received correspondence from one family. Without getting into the precise circumstances of her son, a woman told me that over a two-year period the relevant fund had diminished from €510,685 to €280,145. These are precise figures, and that is quite a drop over that period of time. The family - and there are many others - were very alarmed by the drop and very concerned, and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: We just have a collision of two different worlds in exactly what Mr. Quigley has described. He describes in financial terms the best interest of the funds. I am not suggesting that he is indifferent to the circumstances of the people affected. I ask him not to misunderstand what I am saying. He is talking about the best interest and the best investment decisions, which is fine on the face...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Who are they shared with?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: How many engagements with families are there? Does this happen annually?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is not what people are reporting, and Mr. Quigley needs to hear that, not just as a contribution to a committee meeting, but as something worth reflecting on.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I have another suggestion to make. Mr. Quigley said that he was not the registrar of the wards of court. We might write to the registrar and put some of these questions to them. I know they are not directly accountancy questions but nonetheless they are important process issues. Is there merit in a review of all of the above - the management of the fund, the performance of the fund,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: It is because I am mindful of that legislation that I am suggesting this. I know that it might be the Courts Service that would make a decision on it but it seems sensible to me at this juncture to review the entire kit and caboodle.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Courts Service obviously works within the constraints of the system so this is not in any way intended to be critical. The time is possibly right for that kind of review so this committee might write and suggest that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 22 - Courts Service (20 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Absolutely.

Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (21 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Like others, I welcome the debate. The legislation was drafted and submitted many months ago and has been a long time coming. Others have noted the scale of the cancer of domestic violence, and it is important that we grasp that one in five women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. There is also a phenomenon of violence against men. In the course of my work, I have met...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (25 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: 291. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the visa application in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3. [45299/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Exemptions (25 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: 530. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the level of water charges that will be levied on third level students for the academic year, which is of nine months duration; if landlords will be obliged to pay part of the annual water charge; and if this is the case, the proportion of the annual bill landlords will be liable for. [45296/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Exemptions (25 Nov 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: 531. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if third level students who are in receipt of the maintenance grant will be entitled to relief in relation to water charges; and if so, the amount of same. [45297/14]