Results 25,941-25,960 of 35,894 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (24 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: 730. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide details as to why a person (details supplied) in County Donegal was refused to be seen in Sligo General Hospital, despite having been referred by a general practitioner on 13 March 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12178/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (24 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: 731. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide details as to when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal may expect to receive an appointment in Sligo General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12179/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (24 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: 837. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the current lack of suitable accommodation at a school (details supplied) in County Donegal; her plans to address the school's urgent accommodation needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12176/15]

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Go raibh maith agat. A quote from Dr. Byrne's book, Political Corruption in Ireland 1922-2010: A Crooked Harp, which has been mentioned before states, "A corrupt Act can be camouflaged by lawful justification". I think Dr. Byrne has referenced events which may have happened in the 1970s and 1980s. Legislation was not in place at the time but if today's legislation was applied then, it...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Yes. Was it camouflaged by lawful justification as in the words used by Dr. Byrne?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: I will move to page 12 of Dr. Byrne's book where she introduces a term, which has not been discussed by the inquiry so far, "mediated corruption". Will she explain briefly to the committee the concept of "mediated corruption", who it benefits or who it does not benefit, particularly in regard to the investigations which the committee is taking on?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: There has been a lot of discussion about donations and so on. Mr. Simon Carswell who appeared before the committee yesterday spoke about the access he got to the Galway tent and that he would love to have known the conversations that were taking place. Correct me if I am wrong on my understanding of what Dr. Byrne said about mediated corruption. There was a fixation in the past in...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: In chapter 5 of Dr. Byrne's book, she mentions golden circles of the 1980s and 1990s. In page 103, she states, "This period was distinct from previous scandals because it marked the possibility of the gravest form of corruption, that of State capture within political decision making". Will Dr. Byrne speak to the committee about State capture and the type of actors involved - we are not...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Cuirim fáilte roimh Mr. McDonald go dtí an coiste. He made quite a strong statement regarding the decision making that went on in local authorities outside of Dublin when he said he has "no doubt" that corruption was involved. Will he elaborate on that? What did he observe that led him to make such a strong statement to this committee of investigation?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Is Mr. McDonald allowing for councillors' stupidity in terms of maybe not knowing what they were doing? We do not want to get into individual names because that is forbidden at this stage of the inquiry, but Mr. McDonald's statement clearly indicates corruption, which is an illegal activity. Based on what he observed, is he suggesting there was a transfer of cash or payment to individuals?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: What is Mr. McDonald's view in regard to the closing down - "halting" might be a better term - of the independent investigations that were planned for seven local authorities and subsequently replaced by reviews?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Mr. McDonald has pre-empted my next question, which is what we need to do looking forward. He has suggested an independent planning regulator should be appointed, as recommended by the tribunal. In regard to what happened in the past in terms of corruption in the planning process outside the confines of Dublin, how is that best dealt with?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: The property-State-finance nexus - the linkages between property, the State and the finance sector, and the implications thereof - is what we are discussing under this module. What are Mr. McDonald's thoughts on that dynamic? How would he describe it and what is his opinion of it based on his extensive research, particularly for the two books I have in front of me?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (12 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, I am talking about the lead-up to 2008.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Cuirim fáilte roimh an tUasal Farrell chuig an fiosrúchán seo. Professor Farrell has referred in his oral evidence to a weak Parliament and stated he seeks to address the issue of if this contributed to the banking crisis. Did it contribute to it?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Professor Farrell went on to say this was a sin of omission. When speaking about parliamentary oversight and sins of omission, he is speaking not about the Government but the parliamentary system as a whole. Perhaps he might elaborate on who, in his view, was guilty of sins of omission in this regard.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: In terms of the weakness of Parliament, who or what, in Professor Farrell's view, controls Parliament and is the structure of the weak Parliament a sin of omission or a sin of commission?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Professor Farrell mentioned the resourcing of committees. What is his view of the competence of parliamentary and committee resources in terms of the effectiveness and independence of Parliament?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: Professor Farrell mentioned in his opening statement that, on paper, at least, the committees already had pretty substantial powers to monitor and scrutinise the Government. Will he explain this further for the committee? In that regard, does he mean that limits on powers are not important in restricting the work of committees or does he believe it would be useful for committees to have...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (11 Mar 2015)

Pearse Doherty: In regard to Mr. Farrell's observations on the structure and way committees operate, and the culture which members of the committee have, is this committee an outlier in terms of continental Europe? Are there common features that we can see in other parliamentary democracies?