Results 32,881-32,900 of 33,581 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Whatever about it being well qualified, let us accept where it has come from and put this to bed, because the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General has been more or less demonised for plucking a figure out of the sky with no expertise. However, the figure came from NAMA. That is the very figure NAMA people looked at in NAMA board meetings. Is that not correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I am not going to be side-tracked.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: At this point of the evening, if the Minister does not know, I will let the officials who are with him answer the question. The Minister has answered the question by saying that this has come from NAMA itself.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I am not making a single allegation. In fact, since I have sat on this committee I have never made one single allegation. I am looking at the summary report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. He clearly points out that the commercial decision of selling NAMA assets is entirely a matter for NAMA. How the agency operates sales is entirely a matter for NAMA. Let us put this to bed...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Are any of the Minister's officials aware of that report?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: This was published on 20 February and embargoed until 20 March 2013. My question at this point is whether the Minister is aware of it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: No, it was not.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: This is a report of from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive on the management of response maintenance contracts. I am not trying to catch the Minister. I am simply asking whether he is aware of it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: This has come to me through the documents I have got one way or another for today. I will set out some of the findings. Section 37 relates to Mr. Cushnahan. The Northern Ireland Audit Office stated it was concerned about the involvement of a former non-executive member of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive audit committee who resigned from that committee. The report goes on to state...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: The Minister knows nothing. That is fine.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I accept that. I am simply asking the Minister whether he is aware of this report. None of the members of the deputation is aware of the report. It is a damning indictment of Mr. Cushnahan from February 2013. We have to be careful. His name is not-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I hear what you are saying. I abide by your ruling.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I abide by your ruling. I am simply reading about what was totally unethical and what should have been avoided. If that is causing a difficulty, then I apologise for my comment but these are the facts. I am simply asking the Minister whether this was brought to his attention.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I availed of it, or my office did through-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: It is following up on the "Spotlight" programme that reported the conflict of interest. I am simply asking whether the Minister is aware of it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: I abide by your ruling. I have no difficulty with it. That is it. I am simply asking whether the Minister was aware of it because this leads in to Mr. Cushnahan on the Northern Ireland advisory committee and the question of when the Minister became aware of the fact that he resigned. A letter went to the Minister from Frank Daly, I understand. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: In the letter he notified the Minister that Mr. Cushnahan had resigned. Is that not right? That was on 14 November. The letter from Mr. Daly stated that he wished to advise the Minister of the resignation of Frank Cushnahan as and from 7 November. He further stated that he planned to take the opportunity to discuss Mr. Cushnahan's resignation with the board and that he would discuss a...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: Did Mr. Daly discuss why Mr. Cushnahan resigned at that point in November 2013? Were there any issues as to why he resigned?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: No issue was ever brought to the Minister's attention. Is that correct? The first time the issues were brought to the Minister's attention was in March. Is that correct? I am referring to the first time something was brought to the Minister's attention. When was that?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)

Catherine Connolly: At that point he was alleged to be a recipient. That was brought to the Minister's attention. Mr. Cushnahan had been on the NAMA Northern Ireland advisory committee since 2010. Let us move forward to 2011, 2012 and 2013. Did the Minister think at that point that something was wrong if the man was allegedly in line for a payment?