Results 30,981-31,000 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: No, a Paschal nudge rather than anything else. I winced somewhat when Mr. O'Mahony referred to people drinking cappuccinos and looking at their apps.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Mr. O'Mahony would be entirely incorrect with regard to me. The system is great and that must be recognised. On CIE, I would like to hear from Mr. O'Mahony about the nature of the governance relationship that the Department has with CIE, particularly in light of the recent reports on losses at the company and concerns in that regard. Perhaps Mr. O'Mahony would outline the nature of that...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for attending. I will start with Mr. Barry on the issue of public private partnerships, PPPs, and the recommendations in paragraph 6.48, page 90, of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. I wish to discuss the future use of these tools and how they can develop in light of Mr. Barry's points. After that, I wish to discuss with Mr. O'Mahony CIE's...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I would like to develop that issue further. We discussed it with the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Public Expenditure and Reform a number of months ago and we have touched on it with the witnesses already. I have read the report of the UK's National Audit Office on the use of private finance initiatives, PFIs, the UK's equivalent. What kind of changes...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Of course.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: We will consider a different dimension of that risk in future.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: In the absence of the toll and the volatility generated by same, we will consider a different mechanism instead.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: It is one of the more recent projects undertaken in that regard.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Turning to the risk difficulty being generated by existing PPPs, Mr. Barry made a point to Deputy Connaughton. The issue is picked up on page 83 of the report. I will be pedantic and read from a footnote: "The traffic levels, which are well below the base case scenarios underpinning the PPP contracts, will also have an impact on the PPP companies' returns relative to those envisaged at...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: However, the point being made in the report and referred to by Mr. Barry is that the down-side has been firmly shared by everyone involved. Will he develop this point?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Is that situation particularly acute in Ireland, given the scale of the adjustment and difficulties through which we have gone, or is the experience more broadly shared?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 32 - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Chapter 6 - Financial Commitments Under Public Private Partnerships
Chapter 26 - Collection of Motor Taxation
Financial Statements 2011 - National Roads Authority (7 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I will conclude on that point. Our difficulty in discussing these schemes is that when we press further on a particular project, the answer that we tend to get from Mr. Barry and others is that they cannot go into the detail for reasons of confidentiality, which I understand. In the absence of those types of answers, a judgment along the lines to which I referred earlier is often formed. I...

Promissory Notes: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (6 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The most important challenge for the people we represent is for the State to be in a position to borrow from banks and financial markets at a rate it can afford to fund hospitals, schools, social welfare payments and pension payments in a few weeks, months or years. The most important challenge we face if we want to rebuild confidence in our economy and if we want people to invest, consumers...

Promissory Notes: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (6 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Ross did on Leaders' Questions a number of months ago. I was here. He stated the Taoiseach should look at this route.

Promissory Notes: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (6 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: As Deputy Ross knows, a number of months ago a court in New York stated Argentina had to pay back money to people against whom it took unilateral action. One of the reasons an Argentinian naval vessel was impounded recently in a foreign court was because creditors stated Argentina broke its word. It is the reason the Argentinian state aircraft cannot leave its boundaries for fear of being...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals (5 Feb 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7 is not receiving jobseeker's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5926/13]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (31 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on a disability allowance review in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the fact that supporting medical evidence was submitted to the Department some time ago; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4842/13]

Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The discussion on this Bill offers us an opportunity to discuss the concerns raised by Members such as Deputy Donnelly about bailouts and how they work. It also offers us to a brief opportunity to reflect on the announcement made this morning in the United Kingdom and what that means for the future both of Europe and of Ireland. It is worth reflecting on what happened this morning before we...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: We are all aware, as I am sure is Mr. Chisholm, of the financial status of Eircom. The most recent financial figures reported showed a loss of €1.5 billion. It recently underwent a voluntary creditor restructuring and, sadly, it has announced a very large number of job losses. Once the status is conferred upon the company, how closely if at all does the regulator engage with the...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: How will the compensation process work? Will the regulator make available to the company an amount of money to compensate it for an unexpected loss?