Results 3,641-3,660 of 34,616 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: So what Mr. Gaston is saying-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: The Department sends notification that a free travel card is no longer valid and it takes a least a month for the NTA's system to pick that up.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: Why can it not be done electronically overnight? Somebody has to go after the people with the cards for a refund or to get the money back for using the card. In a case I raised at a previous committee meeting, a person had been using a card for well over a month. Let us be clear that the card in this case should not have been used during that time. At the end, the person received a bill...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: When will that be? It seems very-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: The IT is not speedily up to date. It is slow.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: It is not as efficient as the NTA would like it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: From agencies?

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: Before I call Deputy Cullinane, Deputy O'Connell asked that various items of information should be submitted to us through the secretariat.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: When sending that note, the NTA might provide a breakdown of the 149 people who are on contracts. Is there a company in town supplying ten, 20, 30 or 40 of them? Probably one or two employment agencies or consultancy firms are supplying a lot of these people. The breakdown should show who is providing them.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: I will pick up on that point. In all our years here, we have never seen any State body where more than 50% of its day-to-day workforce was contracted in. I have never encountered it before. It is extraordinary. Is the Department aware of how out of sync this is with every other public body? The NTA has sanction for 140 staff, but that does not even remotely address this issue. The cost...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: I have a question for the Department about the Estimates process this year. Why did the Department seek an extra €10 million to pay for contract staff when it knew it could save that amount by increasing the permitted employment ceiling? The officials might not be able to answer that now, but they must address it. We have never seen a situation previously where over 50% of the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: No, it is 50:50 now.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: We want a detailed note from both of you because it is a matter of concern for us.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: Both the Department and the NTA know what we are seeking and they are aware of the issue. It appears to be just sitting there at a cost to the taxpayer.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: We might write to Bus Éireann on that issue.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: While I acknowledge that, as a commercial semi-State body, it is not audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and not answerable to the Committee of Public Accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: In any event it has been raised now. It might be in the company's interest to respond to us just to deal with the matter. We will write and it is up to it to reply or not. It cannot be compelled to reply or appear on that issue, but I would hope it would reply. We will send a letter.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: To conclude, the National Transport Authority will send us a detailed note on the issue. It must cost a great deal to keep the software in place that keeps cards alive. Sometimes when one buys a store card, for example, the value diminishes because it is stated there is a cost to keeping it alive. The cards must be kept valid somewhere on the system. At what stage is a card deemed to be...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: This is the first time I have heard the phrase "dormant account" in relation to the NTA. That is why I pursued the matter.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority (10 Oct 2019)

Seán Fleming: Not for another ten years.