Results 541-560 of 1,031,408 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Paul McAuliffe) in 'Committee meetings'
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: My question was whether, as a result of all the reviews, there was any suggestion or allegation of a conflict of interest between the person making the decision and the subcontractor.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: From a project management perspective, I can absolutely understand what was done, but it is just not the way to manage public money. Public money must not be exposed in that way. There is a suggestion that the payment would effectively be state aid in that it was a loan to the subcontractor.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: In that space, the OPW leaves itself open to every subcontractor saying the main contractor will not pay it and seeking early payment. It effectively rips up the contract schedule.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: How many people would have been required to sign off on the payment?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: He or she would have had the power to approve up to the amount in question, but surely the making of a payment outside the contract would not be approved. There should not have been approval for that.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: That is a very clear answer. Let me come back to the issue of the tax settlement with Revenue. The OPW made an unprompted voluntary disclosure to Revenue of €550,000 relating to four years of expenses claims. Interest of €110,000 and a penalty of €16,000 were paid to the Revenue Commissioners in 2022. I accept that the penalty is being received by the State from the...
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: They were in receipt of travel and subsistence payments and the country money.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: There are two elements in such scenarios, namely, the tax and the cost to the organisation. I am familiar with the idea of country money. I did some work with the national joint industrial council, NJIC, for the construction industry. Country money is always paid as a replacement for subsistence. Obviously, poor advice was given to the OPW at some point. Has the reason for that been sourced?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: The OPW was making two travel and subsistence payments.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: Country money is effectively an assessed figure to cover travel and subsistence.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: The OPW was making two travel and subsistence payments.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: It is difficult to see how anyone would sign off on two travel and subsistence payments unless he or she did not fully understand what country money was.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: There was an underpayment to Revenue because that money did not fulfil the employer’s common law duty to cover costs incurred reasonably in the course of people’s employment. I believe that is the phrase that is used. Is it correct to say that there was an overpayment to the employees? The employees received both payments.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: The tax element is now dealt with.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: The OPW paid all of the moneys for which the employees were responsible.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: Does Mr. Conlon see my point? Not only did the OPW make the payments to the employees incorrectly and at additional cost to the OPW, but it also paid the tax for them as well.
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: Has there been any attempt to recoup that?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: Does the OPW have a figure for the total cost of the incorrect payments plus the payment to Revenue?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: How much was paid in travel and subsistence?
- Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (13 Jun 2024) Paul McAuliffe: Yes. Given that the figures Mr. Conlon has provided total nearly €600,000 and that is just a percentage of the overall amount, one would imagine that the amount paid incorrectly in travel and subsistence was significant.