Results 5,901-5,920 of 14,090 for speaker:Marc MacSharry

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Does the SCA highlight cases of concern in terms of damage to the State which it would highlight in reporting to its chief executive officer, CEO, apart from the strategy committee it mentioned to the Chairman?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: We have established what it does with the Chairman. I am more interested in the CEO of the overall agency. Would Mr. Breen sit down with him periodically to say he is concerned about X, Y or Z?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Are those meetings minuted?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Can Mr. Breen check whether it is possible for him to provide them to this committee confidentially? The committee is in a position to receive such materials and if he can, he might provide them to the secretariat. Is he in a position to tell us whether at those six weekly meetings any of these cases were highlighted as a concern?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I am not specifically interested in non-disclosure but in the broader case. Many people have dealt with that issue. Mr. Breen gave us some dates. The HSE knew about the Vicky Phelan case in 2014. She was not told until 2017. When did the SCA become aware?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Does the SCA consider or quantify reputational damage to the State in respect of its risk register and responsibilities, and tort, which Mr. Breen said raises difficulties?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Alright.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Then it is all the more necessary to read the service level agreement to see if we have recourse because there is substantial reputational damage to the HSE, the Government, ourselves and so on. Mr. Breen mentioned the pre-action protocols. The Bill that brought those into effect or permitted them was the Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill 2017, passed last November.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: The SCA's website named the other Bill. That was the only reason I said it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Mr. Breen might check that. There is a letter on the website, dated 17 October 2017 which states: "...the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Voluntary Hospitals, are legally obliged to report all adverse events promptly to the State Claims Agency (SCA)." That obviously did not happen-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: -----in this case because it knew in 2014. Was it this case that prompted the SCA to put this up on its website?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: State Claims Agency: Discussion (8 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Was this the first time the SCA issued such a letter to the hospitals and put it on its website?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Before you start the clock, Chairman, I would like to get some clarification. When I wrote in to ask the committee to consider the matter relating to the strategic communications unit, I understood that we would have been inviting people specific to that unit not just the Secretary General. I know he is trying to answer the questions we are putting to him, but I do not recall us deciding...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: Yes, I know that, but none of them was attached to the strategic communications unit. Why is that? It is done now, but I do not remember us as a committee making such a decision, in particular about witnesses at assistant secretary and principal officer level. I do not know whether I inquired of you, Chairman, or whether it was the clerk or fellow members as to when we would be dealing...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I can see that it is difficult for the Secretary General to answer some of the questions, but that is what I expected of today. With respect to the Secretary General, I am not on the Committee of Public Accounts exclusively to look at issues from a couple of years ago when accounts are available. If an issue arises today, I will ask a question about it because I see that as part of my role...

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I say that because of the Secretary General’s response that we have gone away from the 2016 accounts. Before we start the clock, to be quite honest, I am probably going to say very little about the 2016 accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I am also just going to start with a question that is very up to date, as in, from this morning. I hope that is not a problem for the Secretary General.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I will start. In terms of communications, does the State Claims Agency keep Mr. Fraser or the Department of the Taoiseach abreast of how things are going, how many cases there are, or any problems that arise?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I am just asking about communications. Are there pathways for communications so that the Department of the Taoiseach is kept abreast of events in various Departments, such as if a national scandal arose or there was something cooking beneath the bonnet that might blow and might have an impact on society? Are there any update mechanisms? I know there is the Civil Service Management Board....

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 2 - Department of An Taoiseach (3 May 2018)

Marc MacSharry: I clarified that earlier. I do not mean to be disrespectful to Mr. Fraser but, equally, if he was misled to think there was a very narrow focus today, then I apologise.