Results 8,221-8,240 of 32,916 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Statements (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. I thank Senator Catherine Noone and all of the members of the committee and the Citizens' Assembly. I also thank the Minister for his speech, its content and the way he delivered it. However, I have two reservations which have already been mentioned. One is that he gave no timeline and the second is the failure to mention the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: 40. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of invalidity pension and disability allowance applications received in 2015, 2016 and 2017; the number of refusals at first instance; the number granted on appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2047/18]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: 88. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps being taken by An Garda Síochána to enable the resumption of publication by the CSO of quarterly crime statistics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2197/18]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Data (17 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: 89. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which each of the six recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report on crime investigation 2014 directly related to the compilation of crime statistics has been implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2198/18]

Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I praise the men on the ground in Galway, as well as some women who were there, who reacted to the flooding that happened. I will come to the flooding itself, the council's response and, more importantly, the response from the Department. My purpose in raising this is that we can learn, we can prevent future incidents and we can clarify precisely what resources are available to help Galway...

Topical Issue Debate: Flood Risk Management (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I reluctantly say that the Minister of State's response is disappointing. I realise he is stepping in on behalf of the Minister but I asked a specific set of questions. What resources will be made available? What is the extent of the damage that has been communicated to the his Department? We need answers to them. Perhaps the full moon on the night explains some of the bewilderment on...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Only the Chair knows whether we will still be here.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: On that matter, I welcome that we have finally got the documentation. I had a quick look at it, as did a person in my office. It is very difficult for members to be presented with 409 pages of documentation. We could not possibly go through it for today's meeting. One then loses track of why we asked the question in the first place. To go back to the kernel of the question, an...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The Health Service Executive.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: In view of the HSE commissioning this report which has so much content, I am beginning to wonder about the independence of independent reports, although that is no reflection on the company that carried out the work. I have to say that. It would seem to me, as a member of this committee, from the documentation that I have seen since I have been here,it is clear that not enough money was...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Is there a decision as to what we are doing with all of that information now? There is a commission of inquiry in respect of the Grace case.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Are we holding it over?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: That is fine.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: On consultants and legal firms.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I would like to support that. It was clarified that there was a policy of open disclosure, which was supposed to change all of this. The point is validly made; when did the policy come in and what have been the changes since then? In my own experience, with serious issues of medical negligence people are most reluctant to go down the court route. They are actually forced down it. It is...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Has the committee been updated on the work of the Cooke commission?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The person from the Irish Environmental Forum who wrote to me was most anxious that the correspondence would come to the attention of the committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I agree with what the Chairman has asked for. It would be very helpful to us. The figure for Kerry was €1 million, we skipped over it. We are down to Galway and Roscommon and here we have almost €1 million. How do we put this into context? It is awfully important for trust. Bringing it down to a practical level, it is important for local services and for businesses that...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Or people could contrive it.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (18 Jan 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I would welcome that report and a proper analysis and discussion of it. The HSE has one of the biggest budgets, after social welfare, in computers and so on, and from what I can see, as a non-expert, it seems that despite all this procurement, there is less and less competition regarding contracts of huge value. It is urgent that we put it on the committee's work programme, that we get a...