Results 1,221-1,240 of 2,988 for speaker:James O'Connor

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: I do not disagree with anything Mr. Moloney said. I raise this with him because when undertaking a major capital project, I believe a threshold of €100 million applies to public spending code analysis. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Is anyone present in a position to clarify that? I understand it is €100 million.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Would the Department accept the criticism that the public spending code is an instrument of delay when it comes to capital projects?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has a key role and it is probably one of the first Departments that has to give sign-off on any project going ahead and, of course, funding it is its responsibility. Is the Department concerned about the pace at which capital projects are developed and funded by the State? Is there any cause for concern at the moment?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: On a more domestic level, it is important that we get an understanding from the Department's point of view, as the holder of the purse, on the spending of taxpayers’ money. Is the Department concerned about the pace of development at the moment in fulfilling what is contained in the NDP? I will give an example. Given what happened with the Galway ring road this week, does Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: I want to broaden the point that I am trying to make and I will try to get Mr. Moloney's reaction to that. Investors from abroad look at Ireland at the moment and they express concern about the pace at which we can develop our infrastructure. The NDP is under the auspices of the Department. I cannot see how those projects are going to be developed within a respectable timeframe, as has...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: As a consequence of what happened in Galway, is the Department going to analyse all of the road projects contained within the NDP expenditure plan to see what the ramifications of that decision will be for those projects?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: I am asking the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Is the Department concerned about it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: That decision threatens the entire NDP in regard to road projects. I want to get an insight from the Department, which is funding all of those projects, as to what its take on it is.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: That is not very reassuring.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Does Mr. Moloney think the NDP as it stands is reflective of our climate obligations? Does he think it now needs to be analysed and reviewed as a consequence of what has happened with the An Bord Pleanála decision?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Does Mr. Moloney not see the irony in what he has just said, given the point I have been trying to make to him? Essentially, what has happened with the An Bord Pleanála intervention and the outcome of what has happened in Galway has pretty much torn apart the plan. Does Mr. Moloney agree with that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: I want to move on as I do not think we are getting anywhere. With regard to the funding envelope for the NDP as described, I want Mr. Moloney to bring that away and to look at the State agencies. There is An Bord Pleanála, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the relevant Department, the local authority and now, to add insult to injury, the Office of the Planning Regulator...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: That is not what I am asking. To be fair, I am not trying to be smart with Mr. Moloney. I am just trying to figure out how we can deal with the issues we have in this country, where we seem to be tying ourselves up in knots when it comes to delivering capital projects. I am even hearing some reports from Irish Rail that An Bord Pleanála is delaying some of the projects it has ongoing,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: I will continue with the line of question I was on. I regret to tell the Secretary General that I am very worried by the presentation and the answering of my questions earlier, and Deputy Murphy built upon it. Mr. Moloney needs to appreciate that, from our point of view, the public has no confidence in our State's ability to deliver on capital infrastructure. I cannot blame the public for...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: It is a year late; that is right.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: Correct. They were expecting to have that done last year.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: No, it is the planning review being undertaken by the Attorney General. That is due out in three weeks.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding (20 Oct 2022)

James O'Connor: As time is limited, I must stop Mr. Moloney there. Has Mr. Moloney any view on the crisis within An Bord Pleanála?