Results 32,781-32,800 of 33,139 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I welcome the delegates and thank Mr. Watt for his presentation. The fact that the Department has embraced the Controller and Auditor General's report and welcomed his recommendations is very good and positive in view of external developments in this country at the moment in regard to other reports he has produced. I welcome that. The Department has clearly put its hands up. It has...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: It might be debatable but it is worth looking at, nevertheless. Page 18 of the report contains an overview of the findings. The delegation accepts all these but it is noteworthy that disclosure in accounts was the problem. "Civil servants", "Secretaries general", "Chief executives of State bodies" and "Ministerial appointments" all received a mark for no disclosure in accounts. Is Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I am asking for disclosure in accounts, whereby the details may be seen publicly.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Is there any sanction if the disclosure rules or the code of practice are not complied with?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: In regard to the discretionary payments, which are a different kettle of fish altogether, I read the documentation with some astonishment. We will be coming back to that separately with the Central Bank. When we read about the education sector, referred to on page 38, we note there was a substantial amount of money in respect of which no approval was given by the Department. Three...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: In that case, it did not sanction it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: It became aware of it on seeing a draft of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: That is of concern. These are two third level institutions with three major payments, nearly-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: What is the role of the delegates in regard to that?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: That is the point I was making. I am not happy with Mr. Watt coming back telling me the Department of Education and Skills cannot micro-manage. I am asking how we improve it. I am putting my hands up welcoming the Comptroller and Auditor General saying there has been generally good compliance but on the specific issues that have been raised, I am not leaving here today confident in the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: -----with the terms of the HSE scheme as they exceeded one of the limits provided for within that scheme. In other words, they picked out a scheme to say that is what they were following yet there was significant non-compliance or they were at variance with that scheme. How can that be avoided in the future? I am not asking for an answer that says this is only a small amount; I am asking...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that; Mr. Watt has made that point, but in telling them-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I thank Mr. Quinn for attending. I think most of the questions have been asked. I direct this question to the Comptroller and Auditor General. Six severance payments were examined. Were these a sample of the severance payments?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Okay. Is Mr. McCarthy satisfied that the Central Bank has implemented all of his recommendations as its representatives have indicated. I welcome the fact that they stated that those recommendations have been put in place. Is Mr. McCarthy satisfied that they are now in place?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: On best practice, I accept that Mr. Quinn has come here and, from what the Comptroller and Auditor General has said, complied. I welcome that change. However, reference to best practice not being there at the time sets off memories of poor regulation in Ireland and what led to the downfall in the first instance. Unfortunately, the Central Bank has a particular onus on it to lead. It is...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: The only observation I would make is that the period under examination is 2011 to 2013, is it not? I would have thought the Central Bank would have looked at this itself prior to a report coming before us and would have put these measures in place if its internal process is that robust.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 91 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Management of Severance Payments in Public Sector Bodies (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: They have been put in place as a result of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: What is our role in this regard? Can the Comptroller and Auditor General become involved? The issue has been kicked to touch each time. Either we deal with it and remove it from the agenda or we do not, but we need to examine it at some stage. We need guidance on where to go. What are the issues involved? It sounds like there may be a history, but I do not know. We have been snowed...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (21 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Can we have clarification on the Dublin Docklands Development Authority?

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Flooding Data (16 Sep 2016)

Catherine Connolly: 906. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question Number 456 of 12 July 2016, if the tree management package works scheduled to begin on 1 September 2016 are in line to begin on that day; when such works will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25284/16]