Results 16,181-16,200 of 33,058 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: So the approach of the Office of the Ombudsman is to talk to the Department first and if there is no response, there will be a more formal engagement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It seems to be a very important request because in the first place, longer delays are wrong when it comes to asylum seekers. They also allow a vacuum to develop where the most appalling attitudes are being expressed by a small number of people. It is important that the Ombudsman should be enabled and empowered so that the system is as it is supposed to be, namely quick and efficient in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I agree totally without reluctance or hesitation. However, it is equally important that when a vacuum is created and information is not forthcoming to a local community, comments are made by a small group of people. There is a role for us as politicians and for the Ombudsman's office and there is certainly a role for the Government and Department. Mr. Tyndall referred to access to GP...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Directly related to the number of people in emergency accommodation, 950 people are in direct provision who should not be there. The numbers are astounding and one is nearly balancing the other. The increase in numbers fluctuates. I have looked at the graph over the past number of years. There have been times when we have had more or fewer coming to the country. They are not huge numbers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That is compared to two years ago. Did the office look back further along the graph at the position since direct provision was brought in?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: If one looks at the graph, it is up and down since 2000. Finally, I refer to visits. Are the Ombudsman's visits unannounced?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: How many are planned each year? Is the office doing enough to get a good feel for it? My experience of talking to people generally in any institution is that they are afraid to complain. That is any institution, not just direct provision.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Direct Provision: Discussion with Ombudsman (25 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: All politicians.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: 129. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the external investigation into the NMBI; the terms of reference of the investigation; the person or organisation undertaking the investigation; the timeframe for delivery of the external review; the anticipated cost of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39136/19]

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I agree with the Chairman. I have no problem with it. We wrote to the organisation seeking information and asked for the number of jobs supported. It gave us the figure by sector and it gave us the region. We also asked for company size. Was that information given?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: To be fair to it, it gave us the information we asked for. It is now up to us to decide what to do with it.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That is what I am getting to. I read the document and see that we asked for the number of jobs.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I am not defending the organisation. I believe this is very interesting. We do need to bring in the representatives and talk to them. I agree with the point the Chairman is making, which he is making very well, but if we asked for the number of jobs supported and it gave us the number of jobs supported-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Underneath are the sector, category and number of jobs.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I fully support the Chairman. We had Údarás na Gaeltachta yesterday. It is in áit na leathphingine. It is not at the races in regard to the funding received by comparison with IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and all the other such organisations. I support the Chairman in teasing it out. I am just trying to clarify what we asked for.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: On the backlog in regard Irish translation of the Acts and the finding of the court and the statement that it may be in breach of our Constitution, I would like to come back to that matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: He wrote in early September.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I read that letter and took time to read everything that is related. Foolishly or otherwise, I read all of the case law on it. There is a fundamental misunderstanding about what we are being asked to do in the committee. The request is for the Committee of Public Accounts to ask or direct the Comptroller and Auditor General to confirm in writing four things which he found in the accounts....

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Have they been submitted?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (26 Sep 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Were those involved tardy in submitting their accounts?