Results 421-440 of 2,965 for speaker:Robert Dowds

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: Whose fault was this? Was this the fault of Abtran or the City of Dublin Education and Training Board?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: Is SUSI satisfied it took the best service provider in Abtran?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: The best we can say is that it is working much better now. I am sure Deputy Áine Collins and others are very glad it is.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: Does this relate to Abtran receiving payments of €5.9 million for the services provided to March 2013, which was over three times what was originally budgeted, an amount of €1.8 million? That is a huge difference.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: I have a question for Mr. Ó Foghlú and he may reply to both aspects. Did the Department of Education and Skills use the correct front-line organisation to take charge of this, given the problems with estimates and costs and so on. How did it decide on the City of Dublin Education and Training Board?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: My final general point is that Abtran as a service provider is obviously very successful at procuring. From my investigations, as well as providing outsourced services to SUSI, it seems to provide such services for eFlow, Irish Water, the Revenue Commissioners, the ESB, Electric Ireland, the National Transport Authority and the Road Safety Authority. It is an unlimited company and its...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: It does not publish accounts, as far as I know.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: I will leave at that.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 88 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Restructuring the Administration of Student Grants (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: I thank Mr. Ó Foghlú for that. I offer my apologies as I will have to leave as I am supposed to be speaking at this time in the Chamber.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Sports Capital Programme Expenditure (11 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 229. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding the Football Association of Ireland has been given in grants by the State, in each of the years 2008 to 2014; and if the association was required to submit its accounts in order to draw down any funding that was provided. [22718/15]

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: Will the Minister look at the question of targets between now and the next stage? This Bill is very important but I am somewhat frustrated by the way in which targets are being treated in the legislation. I would like the targets to be reached at an earlier stage. I ask the Minister to look at that issue again before the next stage of the Bill.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: How does that relate to the tabling of an actual amendment?

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Interest Rates (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 324. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will introduce legislation to compel the banks to reduce the rate of variable mortgages to bring it close to parity with average European variable mortgage rates, in view of the fact that the average European variable mortgage rate is significantly lower than that here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21943/15]

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 409. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the introduction of investor-state dispute settlements to Ireland, as part of the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreement between the European Union and the United States of America, could lead to the State being sued for enormous sums of money by private corporations if the Government were to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 410. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the current suing of the German Government by a Swedish energy company, using an investment state dispute settlement which forms part of their bi-lateral trade agreement, for billions of euro on foot of the German Government's decision to phase out the use of nuclear energy, and whether the proposed Transatlantic Trade...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 442. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views that the proposed new Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreement could lead to a substantial fall in food safety standards for Irish consumers, which may threaten the health of members of the public if they were to ingest harmful substances through foodstuffs imported from the United States of America,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 1033. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce a bin waiver scheme. [21433/15]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (9 Jun 2015)

Robert Dowds: 1037. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views that the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreement could lead to a significant weakening of environmental protection regulations; if he has expressed such concerns to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21483/15]

Aer Lingus Share Disposal: Motion (Resumed) (28 May 2015)

Robert Dowds: The Deputy had better read the motion.

Aer Lingus Share Disposal: Motion (Resumed) (28 May 2015)

Robert Dowds: The Government was dealt a weak hand regarding Aer Lingus, given that we controlled only 25% of it. Given the importance of air transport to Ireland, an island nation, I, along with a number of my Labour Party colleagues, put a motion at the last Labour Party conference asking that the IAG bid for Aer Lingus be rejected by the Government until four issues were addressed. I commend the...