Results 28,641-28,660 of 33,581 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad (30 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: 73. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will clarify the indications he has received from President el-Sisi of Egypt that he will exercise his presidential powers to return a person (details supplied) to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25607/17]

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That was additional.

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: 8. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units that will be completed in Galway city in 2017 and in each of the next five years; the locations in which this construction will take place; the expected number of social housing units coming into the ownership of the city council in 2017 and in each of the next five years under the...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I checked with someone on the social housing waiting list in Galway before I came to the Chamber. That person went on the waiting list in 2002. That is more than 15 years ago. During that period, the person in question has never once been offered a home by either the local authority or an approved housing body. My question is very specific: in light of that extraordinary list, what direct...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am asking specifically how many will be built.

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I am not clear. I welcome that the Minister of State is concerned and that he is saying that houses will be built. I am asking a very specific question, which I asked in the written form. How many city council houses will be completed this year and in each of the next five years? The most recent figure we got for the waiting list was 4,720 households going back to 2002. At a conservative...

Other Questions: Social and Affordable Housing Provision (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The question is very clear. I asked the Minister of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units that will be completed in 2017 and in each of the five years thereafter. I then go on to ask for further information. At this point, we are looking at 14 houses this year, with a bit of luck, in a city which has 15,000 people on a waiting list. The only...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I thank the Department for getting back to us. It gave us three letters. The web of intricacy is becoming more apparent and I would like the help of the Comptroller and Auditor General in this instance. I ask that we deal with Caranua, with other correspondence. It has come back to us to clarify that it is paying rent.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Most other Deputies and I raised this matter. I asked whether Caranua was paying rent. I checked the accounts with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General to determine whether I had missed something and was told that no rent was being paid. I asked on the day whether rent was being paid and the CEO said no but that it would be paying rent as it was about to move into the private...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Why did the OPW not charge rent for three years? Why was there a policy change?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: That is the crucial question. I do not know if the Comptroller and Auditor General is right, in the sense that he is 99% of the time, but it has been confirmed to us in correspondence that rent totalling €50,000 was paid over as part of the extension. When the chief executive officer was in, we clearly asked if it was paying rent and she said it was not but it was going to. She did...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: She has corrected that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: She said she was wrong.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I think we are all of the mind that rent should not be paid.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: The precedent has been there for three years.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: I asked for reports and I got some. The fault may be mine as I probably limited them to the word "audit". I would like a copy of all external reports of any nature, although nothing to do with clients or suppliers, that Caranua got and paid for. I would like a list with names and cost. For example, we know about Mazars and Capita but there were many more. There is a list that includes...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Deputy McDonald made a very practical suggestion, but I despair of this. We are being treated like children in a school. Our role is to do a job as best we can in the fairest way we can. The challenge is to continue to do that regardless of what somebody puts into a newspaper. It places a higher onus on us to question rigorously but fairly. If I go back to the Commissioner, there were...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. Barrett's.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (25 May 2017)

Catherine Connolly: Yes, but he referred to it at the time and continued to speak from it at the time. That in itself needs to be reflected on because it was produced on the day. In fairness to the Commissioner and the rest of us, we did not have a copy of it and it was not in context. That is just by way of example. We could go on forever talking about leaks to the papers. We should have as few private...