Results 14,321-14,340 of 33,025 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I was hoping that we would get a response from the Department.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It is doubly ironic that they were amalgamated to make them more efficient and better, but the opposite has happened. It is most unfair on the staff on the ground.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: They are telling us that it is unfair.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: We criticise them for other things.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: We were about to do it again in the case of Galway city and county.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: No, we were. We stopped it in the Dáil. It was planned to create a bigger entity without any preparation.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: And the non-procurement issue.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: With regard to the doctor who wrote to us-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It is not in correspondence but the work agenda.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It is in outstanding matters. Are we having the doctor who wrote to us come in? I am reluctant to say his name though it is a public matter. He has written and it is there on the top of the list.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Are we going to decide in private or public?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Fáilte roimh na haíonna go léir. Ní mór dom a rá that my life has got worse reading about ducts, sub-ducts, dark fibre and all sorts of things but behind-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It just shows one that learning is life-long, with fibre-optic cables and all sorts of things. I am going to look at metropolitan area networks, MANs, and the national broadband plan. I will turn to MANS first. Back in 2008, the Comptroller and Auditor General did a report with which the witnesses are probably familiar. Whoever the Comptroller and Auditor General was at that time talked...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I am aware the Department engaged and it took longer.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I have looked at it. The Department acknowledged that the engagement took longer but how could it take almost a year before it published the report? It was published on the day the independent providers-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Absolutely.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: From my limited experience of this, it makes sense to publish. Information is paramount and people can make up their own minds. Now we are filled with cynicism. On the date the independent providers came in, this was suddenly produced. We were left scrambling around trying to read it, and I have read since then.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: More importantly, what about the implementation of this report? Where are we at? If the Department does not have this information and if it is still ongoing, can it send that to us?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Some 11 of the 13 recommendations have been implemented. Very good.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That is what I was coming to because the Department gave us a very helpful updated letter on 13 March. The Minister requested ComReg do this and four bullet points were set out. Where are we at with that? When will ComReg complete this?