Results 1,121-1,140 of 2,211 for speaker:Paul Connaughton

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of Fixed Charge Notice System (23 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Does the Commissioner expect arrests any time soon?

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Rural Environment Protection Scheme Payments (28 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: 623. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when REP scheme will be granted in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3877/14]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Payments (28 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: 636. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment in respect of disadvantaged area scheme and single farm payment will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4093/14]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (29 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: 84. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on an appeal relating to an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4481/14]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Severe Weather Events Expenditure (29 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: 87. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the moneys that were paid out to persons in County Galway relating to the flooding incident in 2009; the number of persons who applied for such funding; the number who were eventually successful; the amount of the funding that was allocated to the areas of Ballinasloe and Claregalway respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter....

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: I welcome the witnesses and thank Ms Clare McGrath for her presentation. I shall commence with the procurement side. I note the documentation provided by the witnesses states that, "The office is compliant with all relevant guidelines regarding procurement with the exception of one contract in excess of €500K. Services continue to be provided beyond the original contract end-date...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: In terms of the contact, the note states it was in excess of €500,000. What was the exact figure?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: It was well in excess of €500,000.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: So it is €800,000.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Is that the only time that has happened? Did everything else go out?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: The only reason I raise the issue is that on a broader scale the witness mentioned in her opening remarks the new procurement strategy and cost savings. A number of small business have concerns in regard to the procurement process being followed by the Office of Public Works on the basis that while its directive is to reduce costs and make savings for the State, it is potentially putting...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Even on the basis of tendering.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: I understand, unless there has been a recent change, that the SMEs had to come together to put in one tender as compared to some of the larger multiples who can come into the system. They find that very cumbersome and hard to work with. Is that taken into account? It is very easy to say we are taking account of SME concerns but unless that works on a practical basis and unless they can...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Yes, the only concern I have is that if we are always driven by the bottom line, while we may report success in terms of savings, have we taken a bigger hit in the longer term with people losing jobs? What the witness is saying is that there is more of a focus on the SME sector in this process.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Another area of responsibility for the Office of Public Works is flood risk management which is topical, considering the storms several weeks ago. The accounts state additional contractual payments were made on several flood relief schemes including Bray, Waterford and Fingal. The excess was funded through the funds from other OPW voted subheads. What were these contractual payments and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Why is that not set into the budget initially?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: Flooding is a topical issue at the moment and it will always happen with the rainfall levels we get. One area that concerns me is my own area of south Galway which saw massive flooding in 1995 and 2009. Flood relief works have been carried out to alleviate the risks in some of the larger towns in the area. The Kiltiernan-Ballinderreen area has suffered from bad flooding in the past but its...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Paul Connaughton: On improving the Kiltiernan-Ballinderreen flood relief scheme, the initial figure was outside the cost-benefit analysis, so they are working on it again. With the weather over the past few weeks, the area nearly flooded again, yet the improvement scheme cannot go ahead because of the cost-benefit analysis.