Results 31,621-31,640 of 33,049 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: I wanted to make that point because the individual is not here.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: So the flight was booked through the president’s office.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Okay.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Representatives of the Higher Education Authority will be in attendance next week. I will raise it then.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: One of the points Dr. Brady made earlier concerned the challenge of attracting and retaining staff of international calibre owing to current pay levels. In preparing for this meeting I looked at a report by the HEA that was part of its correspondence to the committee in November 2010. It was in response to our request for help in understanding the comparative levels of pay between...
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Let me restate the point. Is Dr. Brady saying it is a difficulty for the people below that tier?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Above that tier.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Dr. Brady is contending that the difficulty does not arise with average wage levels but with the ability to be flexible at individual level.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: I note Dr. Prendergast was nodding when Dr. Brady was making that point.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Deputy John Deasy has taken the words out of my mouth.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: I was speaking about the difference between average levels of pay and the ability to deliver individual contracts to people identified to step up to the next level or who should be retained. Is that an issue that also confronts Dr. Prendergast?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Dr. Prendergast has made the argument for more flexibility in making choices in respect of the total amount allocated, as this would allow him to make different choices in retaining people and encouraging others to come to Ireland.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: I wish to raise one other issue, that of discretionary pension awards. In chapter 5 of the university report the issue of pension top-ups attracted media attention. There was evidence that some of the universities were topping up the pensions of staff as they decided to leave. The Department has indicated that work is under way in each university to identify all sets of circumstances where...
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: That is still happening as people look to retire?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: I will conclude, Chairman, but, first, I request an update on pension entitlements from the position which obtained when the report was published in 2010. I would like to know how the scheme is operating now, given that the Department of Finance has joint responsibility for it. There are examples given in the report that show that in one university nine staff had retired in 2008, with the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Has there been any change in the nature of the governing body or its composition since these revelations?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: What about within the senior management team?
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: How do you respond to the point Deputy McGuinness made that a number of other entities and individuals were aware of what was going on? Across a ten year period, no one ever said "Stop".
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: Sorry; I want to withdraw that statement, because Mr. McFeely did, and I should have acknowledged that in what I said. Why were there not more people like Mr. McFeely? I am glad I was pulled up on that because I want to apologise to Mr. McFeely for the statement I made because he clearly did. My question is why was he on his own.
- Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 78 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Matters Arising out of Education Audits (27 Sep 2012)
Paschal Donohoe: When will we know? How will we know?