Results 4,061-4,080 of 7,126 for speaker:Alan Farrell

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: That is a policy matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: It is still a policy matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: It is our job as members of the Committee of Public Accounts to police expenditure of the State. It it not to police the policy objectives of any Government.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: It is still not a matter for the Committee of Public Accounts. It is a matter for the line committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: No. It is not a democratic decision. It is a matter of fact.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: No.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: That is a matter of policy, Chairman.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: That is a matter for the line committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: It is matter for the line committee. My whereabouts are none of your concern.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: It is the manner in which you say it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: I will do my best to take much less than 20 minutes. I thank the witnesses for attending. If they want to contribute at any point during my questions, they should feel free to do so. That includes the Comptroller and Auditor General. Notwithstanding the remarks on current matters before the WRC, among other things, and the whistleblower who appeared before the committee, the only...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: Whoever is appropriate may take it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: How did the Prison Service not foresee it would require nets? Nets have been a very common feature of the Irish Prison Service for many years. How did it not envisage it might require bomb detection equipment and why was it urgent?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: Ms McCaffrey is not talking about something one walks through or which scans.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: I see. I accept that. I will make the point about nets. They are a small thing. What about handcuffs? How was it not envisaged handcuffs would be needed?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: I am confused. Handcuffs are handcuffs are handcuffs. Are they special handcuffs?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: Okay. I am still confused but I will not dwell on it. What is a proprietary purchase?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: That seems prudent. The only other matter in the non-compliance with national procurement rules is on the €5.2 million figure. Of the 18 procurement scenarios, some are still under review. My understanding is that this is a common feature in the Prison Service where matters are being reviewed. Could Ms McCaffrey give us some of the details of this amount?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: There has been a significant increase in the volume of instances of non-compliance. From 2012 to 2017, it increased almost fivefold from ten instances, worth just shy of €1 million, to 50 with a value of €8.8 million. The Prison Service constantly reviews how it operates procedurally as a quasi-Government department. Is there anything the service can do to improve how it...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Farrell: I thank Ms McCaffrey, but I will revert to the mention of matters that should not be disclosed in the public domain. While I accept that, who on the line committee is responsible for making that determination?