Results 23,421-23,440 of 33,044 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: They have gone to tender or are in the process of so doing.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: It moved in January of this year.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Okay. In terms of the expenditure that is being accounted for here, the Comptroller and Auditor General has drawn our attention to a lack of governance and management but Ms McPhillips is saying that has been sorted out.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: That is fine. I listened to what was said in that regard and accept it, up to a certain point. It seems extraordinary that the agencies need a new computer service after such expenditure on them. Although I accept what Ms McPhillips set out, the troika determined a need for the urgent delivery of an insolvency service. In this case, the troika, which was supposed to bring openness and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The pressure also related to speed of delivery.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Did the pressure relating to speed of delivery come from the troika?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Departments generally follow the directions of the troika. After listening carefully to what has been said, it seems ironic that when that was done in this case, it led to a total lack of openness. Ms McPhillips does not like the way I put that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Everything I have read on this matter, including Ms McPhillips's briefing note, leads me to conclude that it resulted from directions given by the troika. We understood that the service had to be brought in and speed was of the essence. It has now cost over €3.5 million. The Department has learned an awful lot and set up new procedures but it has cost a considerable amount of money...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: All right.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that Ms McPhillips has a role to play in terms of answers. It is a privilege to sit on this committee and, each week, to hear of the decisions that were made. What was done under the guise of saving banks and the financial system led to huge problems that cost the taxpayer a huge amount, in addition to the bank bailout. This is a perfect example of that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Absolutely. I know that. It arose from circumstances where banks overstretched and gave out money. We are not getting into that. It arose from the crisis.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I do not really accept that with respect to the Charities Regulator as the Act came into being in 2009.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Yes, and perhaps that is a reflection on the Government and not the Department. It was introduced in 2009 and there was plenty of warning. We needed a Charities Regulator in response to major problems.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: We did not implement it until 2014 and when we did, it was not implemented very well.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I am sticking specifically with the governance.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Absolutely. I am not making a comment on this. We do not need to do that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Would the witness accept there was no governance?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Would Ms McPhillips accept there was bad governance?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Would Ms McPhillips accept there was a problem with governance?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality (26 Apr 2018)

Catherine Connolly: All right. I will leave that as there are many more questions I want to ask. I will look at the Toland report, which was done the way a report should be carried out. It was set up by the former Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on 3 June and it reported on 11 July.