Results 17,681-17,700 of 28,162 for speaker:Catherine Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (11 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: 166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify the circumstances in respect of increased thresholds and grants for further and or higher education (details supplied). [13789/21]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Accommodation (11 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: 170. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the annual security cost of keeping Thornton Hall for the past three years to date; the last time and the due time for renewal of the contract to keep the site secured; the rates paid and or due on the site historically; and her plans to dispose of or develop the site. [13751/21]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Accommodation (11 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: 177. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding a project (details supplied); her plans for the fully serviced site; the cost of maintaining the site in each of the past three years and to date in 2021; the cost of security of the site for the past three years to date; if she has requested a market valuation of the site; if the working group in her...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Vacant Sites (11 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: 178. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of vacant site levies paid in respect of the Thornton Hall site from 2017 to date. [13767/21]

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: It is quite difficult to get the context of this response. A few matters jumped out to me. One was the payment of €121,000 to the Combined Media company relating to the development, launching and management of the Children's Health Ireland jobs website. A further €83,000 was paid to Q4 Public Relations. None of us expects the changes for children's health to come without a...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: It is the context that is important. It is not just the children's hospital. Blanchardstown hospital has opened its emergency unit for children. I am not sure what stage Tallaght hospital is at. We want to know that what we are spending, for example on IT systems, is in the context of that €300 million because they are obviously linked. It is the context of the spend in the two...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: These 41 rail carriages are incredibly important. I note there is some slippage in the delivery. There has been a significant problem with overcrowding and there was a delay in placing the order for these carriages. I am not sure if the order is fully placed at this stage. I apologise, I note the correspondence says some are likely to arrive mid-2022, with a full order of 41 to be...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: Okay. On correspondence 393B, this has been announced on several occasions. It is not at all clear where it fits into the national budget. For example, I could see it appearing again in the national development plan because it will be money that has been committed and not spent. The slippage in timeline is probably less likely to be a significant factor this year because of Covid, but it...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: Yes, I am speaking about the 41 rail cars. We have been told the expected delivery timeline. It would be useful to know the cost. Essentially, what I want to know is when they will be paid.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: The public consultation aspect of many projects that are on the way at the moment, such as BusConnects, is not as satisfactory as it ought to be. That is due to Covid and people not being able to get briefings and small maps and things like that. There will also be procurement issues. The issue of whether they are building in delays into tender projects in the context of the current...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: The context is that just short of €80 million, which comes from the gambling tax, goes to HRI. It must be acknowledged that this is an extremely valuable sector. A week is a long time in politics. Compare how negative the situation was a few weeks ago with how positive it was last week. All credit goes to Ms Rachael Blackmore for lifting many people's spirits. We are discussing...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: Does that include the institutional arrangements and the crossover?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: Is it best practice? Perhaps we will have to recommend in a report that even the optics of it are not right, never mind the functioning of it. We have seen how the CCTV initiative went backwards and forwards and it was not at all clear who had and was taking responsibility. If one is protecting the very large investment and the number of people who are employed in the sector, then it is...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: And yet we still only have one.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: There are a few issues I wish to raise on this correspondence. I thank the Secretary General for his reply; it is most comprehensive. There is some very useful information in it. To pick up on the issue of the national broadband plan, we know that an attempt is being made to reduce costs by using metropolitan area networks, MANs, and existing poles from Eircom. Analysys Mason is one of...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: When we ask for the information on the national broadband plan, we might ask the Department to outline what measurements it has for affordability of broadband. We know the initiatives it is taking regarding the use of metropolitan area networks, and that is fine. It is the end user that matters, however, and that is what the Analysys Mason report produced. Can we ask the Department what...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: Yes, that is fine.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: It is back to waiting for legislation. I think we should send this correspondence to the Joint Committee on Justice. It is useful, and it is expanding on the understanding of the implications of that legislation. This goes beyond criminal investigations, and impinges on organisations such as the Revenue as well. If we do that, it would be a worthwhile initiative. This feeds into the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: This issue was back and forth during the previous committee's tenure. The most important aspect is probably that our treatment of whistle-blowers is problematic. We must ensure that people who bring information to our attention can continue to work without sanction. I do not know if that is obvious at this point. It is probably a general point rather than a specific one regarding this...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 Mar 2021)

Catherine Murphy: I would like to make a brief point.