Results 17,421-17,440 of 33,115 for speaker:Catherine Connolly
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: Leaving the barring order out of it-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: It belongs to the two parties. I am not sure how a child who is now a student could be asked to get information on anything like a barring order. The basic application form requires income information from both parents, who are not the applicant. The essence of the entire process is finding out information in respect of the income of the parents but it went a step too far in asking for...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: There has to be a means of verification-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: -----but not producing copies of documents that children should not have in the first place.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: Those children being adult students now.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: We are not sure what issue would lead to SUSI resorting to asking for a copy of a barring order. What was the issue?
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I know that but-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I meant that where the problem is identified what are the other ways-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: Yes.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I understand that.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I do not agree with Deputy MacSharry's comments on the private sector. If it was subjected to the same scrutiny, it would be very interesting. Unfortunately, it is not. In addition, the public purse has repeatedly picked up the mistakes of the private sector at great cost and with great implications for housing and health and many other things.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: Maybe Deputy MacSharry can come back in afterwards. I would like to keep my train of thought. I cannot let comments like that go about the private sector, nor the demonisation of the-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I have seen big companies hide lots of stuff in previous lives. I have had the privilege of being in different roles and have seen many mistakes hidden, quiet pay-offs made and all sorts of other things.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: The Deputy should let me preface my comments before I take a critical position on this matter.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: We need a vibrant and effective public service. I will stand behind the public service. I will not stand behind its mistakes but I will not have it demonised in the guise of praising the private sector.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I will be the first to apologise if there is a misrepresentation but what I heard being said was that in the world of the private sector this would not have happened.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I am not standing behind any mistakes in the public sector. I am putting the matter in context and saying we should not demonise one sector and sanctify another whose mistakes to date I and all other taxpayers are paying for. Doing so is much more difficult for some than it is for me. I welcome this eight page report, which was put together very quickly. Unfortunately, it is only the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: It may have been mentioned in a press release or some other document I read, but I do not see it on this page of the report. One thing I have learned from this case is that this committee is only as good as the questions we ask and our attendance rate. However, one would expect candour from a body that comes before us to give us information. That should not be dependent on our questions....
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: I am not going to reduce it to this. Comments were made which I accepted, and I then made my own comments. It is not a tit for tat.
- Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (28 Nov 2019)
Catherine Connolly: The issue is that a mistake was made. We need to address, with the appropriate people and as quickly as possible, why that mistake was not noticed, what processes were in place and how they failed.