Results 5,621-5,640 of 8,745 for speaker:Verona Murphy

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: I will be looking into it further because there seems to be a varied approach. We cannot forget that HRI is a structure to help the sector and regulate it but it cannot be all one-sided at the same time. To go back to the disposal of lands, will Ms Eade explain that to the committee? On paper, this looks like another case of poor judgment.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Who valued the land?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: HRI got one valuation. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: HRI just got one valuation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Did Mr. Blake sign off on that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Mr. Blake is from the Department. Would Mr. Blake need to sign off on it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Only one valuation was done.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: When public money is being spent I would have thought that at least two valuations would have been done so that we would not have this issue. Is that how we have ended up with this issue? Was the valuation incorrect?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: I asked if the valuation was incorrect.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Unfortunately, HRI did accept the valuation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: I want to address two issues. I may be wrong, but there will be a video record of the meeting. Earlier, I asked Ms Eade about the loss on paper, as we call it, relating to the lands in Tipperary. She said that the Department had signed off, but Mr. Blake told my colleague that the Department did not even have notice of that. Somebody needs to correct that. Mr. Blake said that he did not...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Okay. This is to rectify that because people are watching and it will be brought to our attention. My other question relates to Ms Eade's comment that she had gotten one valuation. The committee has had experience of this where public funds are being expended in any area, regardless of whether it is a swap or not, that there would have been more than one valuation. I would have expected...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: But at the same time, if Mr. Blake is signing off on it, then this gives them the go ahead.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Yes. Does Mr. Blake not feel that it would be more pertinent in the Department's defence against anything arising such as this, albeit that it is on paper, and that it would be covered from the point of view of looking after the public purse by getting its own valuation? I know that would involve expending a certain amount but at the same time, it is a matter of transparency, accountability...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: So there is no onus on the Department to verify a valuation. If a valuation came in that raised an eyebrow, what would Mr. Blake do? If that valuation had come in at €1 million, what would he do? How does he verify that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: It would depend on where the land was, but I appreciate that it is in Tipperary. All Wexford land is probably worth approximately €30,000 per acre. I still think, however, that there has to be a better system. This could be a complete disaster. It could be cost a lot more money. From previous experience, in purchases by different entities, for instance, in the education sector, we...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: No.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Horse Racing Ireland: Financial Statements 2020 (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: Yes, and we have set a bar for the next appearance.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: We should ask what his definition of "progress" is.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (22 Sep 2022)

Verona Murphy: It can afford to be there.