Results 44,881-44,900 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I appreciate that some of these questions are for the Accounting Officer of the Department but I must put them to the Chairman because she is present. Does the OPW have any role in scrutinising the brief? Ms McGrath has stated the Department sends the brief to the OPW but what precisely does the office do with it? Does it go through it and check it is in line with everything the office is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I was eager for the OPW to provide a comparator because in fairness to the Chairman of this committee, the then Minister of State, it is important that the committee gets a sense of whether this was in line with the experience of other Ministers. I appreciate the difficulty Ms McGrath has had in this regard but in her letter to the committee of 16 May, Ms McGrath referred to the nearest...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: Was that for a Minister of State?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: A senior Minister.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: Okay. Ms McGrath obviously has provided the committee with the cost of the office in the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, at approximately €205,000. How much of that cost does Ms McGrath think was attributable to the fact the building was a protected structure? While I appreciate the difficulty Ms McGrath has in making comparisons, members must also try to make...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: While Ms McGrath may not have such a figure to hand now, I believe it would be possible to make a fair stab at working out the costs associated with it being a protected structure.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: No, I am not asking Ms McGrath to do that. However, I imagine that were the OPW to examine the associated bills, there would be a way of establishing that some of them were attributable to work it was obliged to do in the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which it was not obliged to do in Hawkins House because the former is a protected structure and that this work cost X...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: Yes, well if Ms McGrath can do that as well-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 10 - Office of Public Works (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I appreciate that and am not being pedantic in this regard. We are the spending watchdog. Obviously, we have to be seen to be above reproach on this. We have an issue involving our Chairman and we must get to the bottom of it. The entire narrative in Ms McGrath's correspondence has been that there were significant additional costs, additional time and additional resources because it is a...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (23 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I have a small addendum. I looked at the report of the recent meeting. The Chairman correctly said that once we garnered all information members could make a decision about what they wanted to do with it, including the possibility of calling in the Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Can we proceed with the meeting today on all issues relating to the...

Topical Issue Debate: Water Services Provision (22 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank the Minister for his answer. I know he does not have direct responsibility for these services and neither does this House. We have a moral responsibility at this stage. While I appreciate the answer the Minister has given, I suggest the information he has been given by officials in the council or his Department under-estimates the seriousness of the issue. Thousands of people in...

Topical Issue Debate: Water Services Provision (22 May 2013)

Simon Harris: I thank the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, for being present to discuss this very important and pressing issue which has now become an issue of public health and safety in County Wicklow. What started off nearly three months ago with a small number of houses in Kilpedder not being able to access a regular supply of water has now extended to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Travel (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 126. To ask the Taoiseach if he will outline in tabular form, the amount of travel and subsistence, both foreign and domestic, claimed individually by him and Minister of State and Secretary General in his Department, for each year in the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23823/13]

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Staff (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 127. To ask the Taoiseach if he will outline in tabular form, the number of staff appointed by him and Minister of State in his Department or constituency office and their relevant costs including travel and subsistence, in each year for the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23839/13]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 135. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline in tabular form, the amount of travel and subsistence, both foreign and domestic, claimed individually by each Minister and Minister of State and Secretary General in his Department, for each year in the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23817/13]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Staff (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 136. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline in tabular form, the number of staff appointed by each Minister and Minister of State in his Department or constituency office and their relevant costs including travel and subsistence, in each year for the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23833/13]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Travel (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 155. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will outline in tabular form, the amount of travel and subsistence, both foreign and domestic, claimed individually by each Minister and Minister of State and Secretary General in his Department, for each year in the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23816/13]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Appointments (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 156. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will outline in tabular form, the number of staff appointed by each Minister and Minister of State in his Department or constituency office and their relevant costs including travel and subsistence, in each year for the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23832/13]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Travel (21 May 2013)

Simon Harris: 320. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline in tabular form, the amount of travel and subsistence, both foreign and domestic, claimed individually by each Minister and Minister of State and Secretary General in his Department, for each year in the period 2005 to March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23814/13]