Results 3,361-3,380 of 5,356 for speaker:Cathal Crowe

Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Statements (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Absolutely. We cannot just have contract extensions. We need scrutiny of those two major factors as well.

Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Statements (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I too welcome the publishing of the report on the Commission on the Defence Forces. It is timely that we have this report before us. However, it will not be worth anything unless it is properly acted on, resourced and funded. Fianna Fáil called for this commission to be established back in 2019. It was a key element of our manifesto coming into the February 2020 general election,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Last June, Cabinet signed off on a proposal to transfer Shannon Heritage sites to local authorities. Clare County Council is currently undertaking due diligence on the transfer of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Knappogue Castle, Craggaunowen and a retail outlet at the Cliffs of Moher. The due diligence is extensive but it has thrown up the matter of the incredible costs involved in taking...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I will follow the thread of what the previous speaker has been saying about University Hospital Limerick. Some 96 people are on trolleys there today. On 26 January, the number peaked at 111. Records for trolley numbers are repeatedly broken at UHL. It is an incessant problem that goes on and on. I will begin with a question to Mr. Reid and Mr. Watt. Who sits on the elective hospitals...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Will Mr. Watt name the members? I specifically asked who was on it because I need to know that detail today.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I will keep going with my questioning. I would appreciate being given the names in a moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: By any metric or logic, I cannot understand why the most pressurised group of hospitals in the country was omitted. This is now progressing. A business case has already been filed for Cork and plans are pending for Galway and Dublin while there is no suggestion of an elective hospital in the most pressurised corner of the country, the mid-west, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. I will make a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I am still talking, Chair. I want the names of those people and I want our committee to undertake a body of work in this regard because a corner of Ireland is being left totally out of this report. To move on with my questions to Mr. Watt and Mr. Reid, we have all digested this morning's Irish Independent. One of the front-page stories relates to pay in the higher grades of management in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I find that hard to believe. If my name was on the front of a national newspaper, I would probably pick up the newspaper and read it first thing in the morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I find it hard to believe. If a person's name is on the front of a national paper with regard to pay and conditions, I would assume that person would have read it. If Mr. Watt has not read it, then I suggest it is worth reading, because it was certainly a factor when preparing for this meeting. I have had many emails and phone calls from people at various management levels in the HSE and I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: This happens every week. With the greatest of respect, Deputy Shortall's line of questions was allowed, but the Chair interrupts me every two minutes when I am asking questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I will continue my questions without interruption. This happens every single week.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Even at this very late stage, is Mr. Reid prepared to look at the possibility of impropriety and that the process used to stymie payment was tainted? That has been flagged with both Mr. Reid and Mr. Watt by senior management. Is Mr. Reid willing to look at why this has been stymied and not implemented?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Words or not, is Mr. Reid willing to initiate a process of review?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: Do Mr. Reid and Mr. Watt accept that the salary increases granted to the posts that they both occupy were in breach of the same financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation that was used to deny payments to other management personnel under report 42?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I am not here to ask about pay. What really concerns me as a politician and as someone who represents taxpayers in my constituency is what the stumbling the blocks in the HSE are when it comes to the delivery of service. One major stumbling block is that we have a huge cohort of disgruntled senior staff who have been waiting for far too long for an award to be made to them, which was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: I will have to raise it in the Dáil. It is a major factor. Mr. Reid and Mr. Watt both know what this is about. It needs to be addressed. I will conclude by saying that I think when a Deputy or Senator is in possession of time, if the questions are reasonable and focused on the agenda, we should be allowed to proceed without interruption. We have time to use. It ate up some of my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: This is the second interruption I have had. I want time added on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (16 Feb 2022)

Cathal Crowe: It happens every single week. I would like Mr. Watt to answer that question.