Results 11,321-11,340 of 21,050 for speaker:Alan Kelly
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Yes. I raised this matter previously. Effectively, we have had to drag these figures from those involved in terms of the costs and the breakdown of them. We asked for them in numerous different ways. The total figure is alarming. More than €571,000 has been spent on a proposed merger and we do not know if it will ever materialise. The other figures are also quite disturbing....
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Absolutely.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Merger.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Not alone that, but the Chairman will remember from evidence we went through here and documentation we sought that there were board minutes regarding this decision that were not published. There were also questions at the time about the whether the boards agreed with the merger in the first place, but yet it has proceeded at a cost. These are only legal costs and we can imagine all the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: I know, but in a proposed merger such as this one-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: -----there are professional costs across the board. This is only expenditure of more than €571,000 in one category.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: My jaw nearly hit the ground when I read this. We have raised issues here on numerous occasions about the use of taxpayers' money by universities and colleges. I wonder whether my alma materhas learned anything. Obviously this is a vast sum of money. That is one thing, and UCC can make its own decisions about it, and it is not what I am questioning. At committee meetings we have had...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: The issue of whether or not this is good for the college is not something I am debating. That is a choice it has to make. Personally, I think it is ridiculous but that is a different thing. The issue for me is UCC is trying to justify it on the basis it is using non-taxpayers' revenue. Sorry, but that argument was rubbished at this committee.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: No-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Yes.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Basically, how can it justify this was exclusively non-taxpayers' revenue?
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: For me, that is impossible, and I would like UCC to explain it. It should come out publicly and state that actually the taxpayers of Ireland are paying for the majority of this because that is the truth.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: That is not explained.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: That is fine.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: If we read the report it is actually a very good report. It raises a huge number of questions, and we really need to write to An Garda Síochána to ask very specific questions based on the report. I would encourage the secretariat, and there is a bit of work in it I am afraid, to go through the report and refer it on. There are some very specific questions in it, which may need to...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: We can do that as well, but the questions are pretty obvious.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: I agree with the previous speakers that we should park the political side of things. Even though our concerns are all real we must consider this matter from the committee's mandate. We need to consider the business case put forward for the unit, the costs associated with the unit, the budget that was given and the recruitment process. I have heard these statements about being cost-neutral....
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: That is exactly what I said. I said that perhaps we might do that subsequently.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Are there any big ticket items within that?
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)
Alan Kelly: Okay.