Results 2,461-2,480 of 3,338 for speaker:James O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Aids and Appliances (26 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: 1674. To ask the Minister for Health the areas of the country in which the HSE covers the cost of compression sleeves for breast cancer patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20504/22]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Aids and Appliances (26 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: 1675. To ask the Minister for Health the areas of the country in which the HSE covers the cost of compression garments for patients who require them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20505/22]

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I apologise to Deputy Murphy that I had to step out for one moment, and I thank the Chairman. I welcome the members of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission before the Committee of Public Accounts today. I want to develop a better understanding of the work they all do. Obviously, GSOC is a statutory independent body that is charged with overseeing the Garda, but when it comes...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: It is fascinating when looking at GSOC accounts to see the amount of money that is spent on staffing proportional to the operations of GSOC as an organisation. When it comes to the costings of undertaking the work GSOC is supposed to be doing, is there an issue of parity when it comes to that? Looking at the charts available to the Committee of Public Accounts, a very significant portion,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I will just ask the question again, to be direct about it. Essentially, if GSOC is undertaking a major investigation into wrongdoing in the Garda, obviously this would entail substantial legal costs. Are these included in the figures provided for the staff costs of the organisation? That is a direct "Yes" or "No" answer.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: Okay. How big is the legal budget?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: Was that €79,000 for the entirety of GSOC's legal budget?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: That is odd. Those numbers sound quite low. I am not being overly critical. The commission has its own in-house legal team. From an external point of view, however, 127 staff sounds a small complement for an organisation that is charged with oversight of the Garda. The Garda Commissioner was before the committee last week and a number of important issues were raised with him....

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I will turn to the efficiency of the work that is undertaken by GSOC, which is highly complex. Many of the cases undertaken by GSOC are extremely controversial. Is there anything that can be done to address the length of time it takes to investigate controversial cases? An investigation in Templemore has been going on for five years, which is an awfully long period. It is difficult to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I completely respect that. It is uppermost in all of our considerations. How much of a backlog of investigations has GSOC at the moment? Is there an issue in terms of investigations that have been held up?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I understand that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: That is a systemic issue across all sectors of the Civil Service and State agencies. What do our guests see as the solution to resolve that issue? Is it a salary issue? Do the conditions need to be addressed? Are employees finding the workload difficult to manage? I am trying to get a sense of what our guests feel the State needs to do to improve the organisation's capacity to undertake...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Infrastructure (7 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: 119. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to update broadband for schools in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18873/22]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I welcome Mr. Walsh and Mr. O'Neill. First and foremost, I compliment TII on all the work going on at the Dunkettle interchange. It is fantastic to see the level of progress and the project is really starting to come together. I travelled over the junction in recent days and over the past three or four months, and it is staggering to see how quickly it is moving along. I say "Well done"...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I am not underestimating the tunnel's safety aspect.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: On that issue, I know it is difficult and tunnel safety is extraordinarily complex. I know that from the Jack Lynch Tunnel and the training and everything that have to go into it. It is exceptionally difficult and people are not wholly aware of it. However, it would be great if TII would engage further with the road hauliers. I believe they have a few decent and valid points to make. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: Excellent. That is good to hear.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: That is great news. The next issue I wish to cover is one we have spoken about many times. It is very difficult to explain to people with regard to Burgess and the N25 issue I raised with TII regarding the installation of an island. Unfortunately, and this has been raised previously, there has been a fatal accident and I have stressed multiple times that there will be another very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: We have discussed this previously. In Lemybrien in County Waterford and at the Dawn Meats plant in Waterford, there is a lot of work ongoing on the N25 on junction upgrades in terms of safety work. I know some of those areas have village status. To my knowledge, Kilmacthomas does not have village status on the N25, but the safety works are being done there. I am pleading with TII. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Transport Infrastructure Ireland Projects and Related Issues: Discussion (6 Apr 2022)

James O'Connor: I will correspond with Mr. Walsh. My last question is probably the most important one for Mr. Walsh and Mr. O'Neill. With regard to funding certainty, where is TII in terms of undertaking some of the items in the national development plan, NDP? Is it in a position where it can progress with some of the items that have been listed in the NDP? We are getting quite close to another...