Results 1,501-1,520 of 3,444 for speaker:Shane Cassells

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Deputy Kelly has encapsulated everything well. The Chairman made the point, but the IGB is not "out ' the gap" on this issue.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Recall the day when its delegates appeared before us. Their happy attitude, based on their understanding that this bailout was effectively coming anyway, raised questions about what it was that people understood was really happening. There was no transparency in the process. What galls me is that the Department of Education and Skills wrote the cheque. Did the Department get value for...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Who is the current chairman?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Is the Chairman going to invite the chairman of the CCMA or just the chairman of the sub-committee on housing? Is it the same person?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I welcome the witnesses. I will start with chapter 6 of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Miesian Plaza offices for the Departments of Health and Children and Youth Affairs. The answers thus far have been insightful. These offices lay vacant for 18 months at a cost of €11 million. It was far from a good deal overall. That is not even with the basin point in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: We are going to get into that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: That is Mr. Buckley's claim. The constitutional officer of the State has said €11 million. The answer is "No". The two words Mr. Buckley has used are "not compatible". He also used the term, "quickly and efficiently". Then in the following breath, he said there was a delay. They are not compatible. The answer to what Mr. Buckley has said is "No". That is my frustration with...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I want to discuss that process and what the Comptroller and Auditor General had to say. Page 2 of the report refers to a significant commitment of public funds. Why were there no documents detailing the risks associated with what Mr. Buckley has said was a significant project and a difficult journey? It is not the first time we have had bodies before the committee with no documentation...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Mr. Buckley referred to problems in the planning process. Will he take me through it? Let us take the timeline in chapter 6.5 of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the interaction between Mr. Buckley’s office and the Secretary General in the Department of Health and the issues which arose from 2016 onwards. A red flag was raised in October 2016 when the Secretary...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I want to get into those issues. There were many issues at the time. People were losing their jobs and whether they were in a cellular or open plan office was not their concern. I acknowledge that in December 2016 Mr. Buckley initiated meetings to resolve the ongoing issues. Chapter 6.41 of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General states the “OPW has a directive power in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Not from this evidence.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: In October 2016 the Secretary General wrote to the chairman of the OPW stating the Department of Health could not proceed. In the following March the Department had still not agreed the layout of common areas in offices. This goes to the heart of the matter. There was the wrong attitude. What is the situation pertaining to the fact that not all of the staff from the Department of Children...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I acknowledge that the OPW came to this process at the mid point but I find the whole thing disheartening. The Comptroller and Auditor General has spoken about the ineffective use of €11 million. Mr. Buckley has said that it was a good deal and is arguing the toss about whether it was €11 million or €4 million. It has real consequences for the lives of real people and...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Divisional Headquarters (17 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: 19. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has examined the possibility of utilising the site identified for the provision of a new courthouse in Navan announced in Project Ireland 2040 for a new Garda divisional headquarters for County Meath to ensure the maximum return for the public purse and the delivery of both projects. [42435/18]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Deployment (17 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: 60. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí and reservists in each Garda station in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42547/18]

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

Shane Cassells: Deputy Murphy asked how we got here. When the representatives of the Tax Appeals Commission were before the committee, we had never heard a set of witnesses willing to offer the woes of their office as much as they did. I suppose that is why the Minister for Finance determined that the matter would be subject to a whole paragraph in the budget speech. When one sees the amounts of moneys...

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

Shane Cassells: The point the Chairman made is quite right in that while this committee examines expenditure, the scenario where tax income is being left in hiatus for a long time is equally as impactful on the resources of the State. This should be pursued.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (23 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: 143. To ask the Minister for Health the action he will take to address the tripling in the number of outpatients waiting a year plus since September 2016 for an appointment in Navan Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43609/18]

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the geothermal energy development Bill, which has been stalled now for a number of years. Given all the debate about energy over the past number of weeks, the advancement of this Bill should be addressed. I live in a town in which mining is one of the largest employers. More than 600 people are employed in Tara Mines, which is the largest zinc mine in...

Sale of Illicit Goods Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (24 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: I pay tribute to Deputy Breathnach for bringing forward the Bill. Any of us who grew up in the 1980s had a weekly market. In my case, the weekly market in Navan was a paradise to explore as a young child. One learned fairly quickly that not everything on sale in the market was kosher and one did not have to have watched an episode with Del Boy and Rodney to figure that out. By the time I...