Results 2,381-2,400 of 6,631 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Leading on from that, did that influence the Department's decision to introduce the external assurance process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: However, the report was carried out. Mr. Meaney can see what I am getting at. Were any concerns raised within the Department that it was relying on recommendations from private consultants to give a greater role to private consultants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I would like to think it is until such time as we build up further capacity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, indeed. I just think there needs to be a greater focus on it. What information and feedback would the Department have typically provided to the approval authority following the technical review of the strategic investment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It will reduce the administrative burden. Is that what is being said?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What feedback does the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform provide from the technical review at the preliminary and final business case stages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: What are the anticipated trade-offs in terms of oversight from the perspective of the Department with regard to removing the technical review phases? Is there a trade-off?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: In his opening statement Mr. Conlon said the recent reforms to the public spending code were informed by a number of reports. He mentioned the IMF report and the PwC report on the escalating costs of the national children's hospital. The PwC report on the national children's hospital states that significant failures occurred during the crucial planning and budgeting stages of the project...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Did the national children's hospital go through all three technical reviews in the Department at the strategic assessment, preliminary assessment and final business case stages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Would the recently announced reforms have given the Department greater oversight of the national children's hospital project compared with public spending as it was originally? Are the witnesses saying the situation we have with the national children's hospital would not have happened if we had then what we have in place now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Chair for letting me in again. Following on from that, we know that there was a €1 billion underspend in housing last year. Do we know where the Department is at this stage this year and what happens when the Department comes to Mr. Conlon and says that it has underspent by so much at this time? What is the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is the outcomes. What I am getting back from local authorities is that they have not got a budget to fix a hole in a roof. That is the fact of it. The money seems to be held at a level. I find this across the board in different areas. The money is held nationally but it does not get to them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I know Mr. Conlon would not. I would not expect him to have it. Going back to the EY report, the Minister specifically said that the EY report recommended developing an external assurance review process for major infrastructure projects. That recommendation specifically came from the EY report. Mr. Conlon will understand my concerns, notwithstanding the fact that we need a certain...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Going over that, in Mr. Conlon's opening statement, he states that recent reforms to the public spending code were informed by a number of different reports. Mr. Conlon mentions the IMF report, where he mentioned the PwC report on the escalating costs of the national children's hospital. One of the other recommendations that were made in that report was to establish an infrastructure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I hope the Department did not pay them for that recommendation if it was already set up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is that where the expertise is held for large capital project delivery for the State? Is it located within that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is there a variation across Departments in terms of the expertise and capacity to deliver the projects? Under the current structures, how are the Departments able to leverage expertise to other Departments? How much cross-departmental work is there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Another recommendation in the IMF report was to mandate the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, to develop sector-specific methodological guidance in collaboration with Departments. Has that been done?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It was said in the opening statement that a range of Departments and agencies have developed sector-specific arrangements. How many Departments have developed such sector-specific arrangements?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

Rose Conway-Walsh: If Mr. Meaney keeps saying “transport”, the people in the west of Ireland will just go crazy, given the lack of transport. If he keeps holding up the Department of Transport as a great example, we will be expecting the western rail corridor to be there in the next couple of months.