Results 44,381-44,400 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: Is Mr. Neilan saying - this could be very helpful in terms of clarification - that it was the wish of the greyhound board to have it included in the contract but from the vendor's point of view, it was not acceptable to include it in the contract?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I understand that but these discussions took place before the deal was done and before the contract was signed. Am I right?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I am hearing Mr. Neilan loud and clear but I am still not getting my question answered. I understand it was not in the contract and that it was not a condition of sale but my question is, why was it not? Why did Mr. Neilan, as chief executive, make a decision to proceed with a contract when his engineers stated to him on 22 November 2007 that it should be in it and when his solicitors wrote...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I put it to Mr. Neilan that he ignored the advice of his engineers to include this in the contract.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I am not an engineer or a legal person but if I buy something, I rely on the advice of professionals. I bring in people who have engineering and legal professional skills and I ask them to advise me. The engineers clearly looked at the site and said the fill would be an issue and that Mr. Neilan had better include it in the contract. The legal people then went about trying to make sure it...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: No. What I am trying to suggest is that if I go to buy a Mazda and there is water leaking onto the back seat and the mechanic says I should not buy it unless the leak is fixed, I would make sure the leak was fixed before I bought it. I put it to Mr. Neilan that his engineers said he would have to fill the site and in regard to those works upon the site and throughout the site that are to be...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: Mr. Neilan had a mechanic saying not to buy it until the leak was fixed.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: Mr. Neilan would accept that Atkins, his engineers, had advised him to include it in the contract.

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: In hindsight, does Mr. Neilan believe it should have been?

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: We are going to have to disagree on this. I note with disappointment that there was advice available to the greyhound board before the signing of the contract to specify this in the contract. However, Mr. Neilan signed that contract without that being done, with the consent of the board. I am simply noting that point. On 29 April, 2008, the project manager prepared what has been...

Public Accounts Committee: Bord na gCon - Annual Accounts 2011 (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank Mr. Neilan, Mr. Meaney and the team for being here today. At the outset I should make it clear that those who are asking questions and holding the board to account are not against rural jobs, a stadium in Limerick or positive developments in the greyhound industry. Everybody appreciates the importance of such industries to the Irish economy and communities. We are asking the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: Since the Chairman is bringing so many issues to finality, it reminded me of another issue we have discussed many times, namely, the lack of accountability once money leaves central government and goes to local government. It is timely to look at this again considering the publication of the Local Government Bill. I would take the Chairman's advice and guidance on this but we raised the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I know they were both in but the Bill has been published since they appeared before us and I have yet to see in the Bill what greater scrutiny there will be from when money leaves central government to go to local government so I would very much welcome that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: This is a school in my constituency. I have raised this matter before and stated the HSE will have to comment on it when it attends the committee on 14 November, in particular the audit undertaken which has not been published but which has been widely leaked to the media.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Authority Housing Maintenance (7 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: 155. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if there are guidelines or standards in place to ensure that all local authority houses are provided with heating and insulation to a sufficient standard; if such standards are specific to Ireland or correspond with specific European directives or regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47555/13]

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Simon Harris: I also very much welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013 and to offer some thoughts and views on the legislation before the House. I commend the Minister for Finance and his Cabinet colleagues on the many innovative measures in the Bill aimed at harnessing economic growth and moving the country forward after years of reckless mismanagement, which my colleague Deputy...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2013)

Simon Harris: I welcome the amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 that have been proposed by the Minister. They address many concerns in respect of inspections, etc. I ask the Minister to provide some clarity regarding the area of childminding in the context of the recent publication of a report, Right From the Start, by the expert advisory group on the early years strategy. Does the Minister envisage...

Topical Issue Debate: Rail Services (22 Oct 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and am grateful that he intends to raise these issues directly with the chief executive. All I ask is for the chief executive and Irish Rail to keep the commitment they made to commuters and the Minister of State on 9 September 2013, when they issued a press statement stating this capacity issue would only affect off-peak DART services. My...

Topical Issue Debate: Rail Services (22 Oct 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for public transport, Deputy Alan Kelly, for being in the House this evening to take this important debate. Irish Rail stated that it needed to save money on energy costs and therefore it intended to reduce the capacity of DART trains at off-peak times. Unfortunately for commuters in Greystones and Bray and those along the DART line, the...

Leaders' Questions (22 Oct 2013)

Simon Harris: That was constructive.