Results 601-620 of 7,961 for speaker:Imelda Munster

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Finance Accounts 2022
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 1 – Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2022
Chapter 2 – Reporting Ireland’s EU Transactions
Chapter 24 – Performance of the Ireland Apple Escrow Fund
Chapter 25 – Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (30 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Ulster Bank had chosen to change the terms of those customers’ mortgages so it is not incumbent on them-----

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Finance Accounts 2022
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 1 – Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2022
Chapter 2 – Reporting Ireland’s EU Transactions
Chapter 24 – Performance of the Ireland Apple Escrow Fund
Chapter 25 – Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (30 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: As it stands, there are 4,500 families worried that their mortgages could be sold to vulture funds in circumstances where their interest rates would more than double instantly. Has the Department liaised with the Minister or anybody else on putting measures in places to prevent the sale of those mortgages to the vulture funds or has it liaised with the Central Bank on capping those interest...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Finance Accounts 2022
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 1 – Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2022
Chapter 2 – Reporting Ireland’s EU Transactions
Chapter 24 – Performance of the Ireland Apple Escrow Fund
Chapter 25 – Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (30 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: The witnesses are tasked with policy, are they not?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: I would like to echo the sentiments expressed and the congratulations to the Comptroller and Auditor General and his office for the invaluable work the do. It is a significant help to the committee. At times, I do not know how we would carry out our own work without it. I want to touch on the NTF and that ridiculous surplus of €1.37 billion. How long has that surplus been building?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: The Comptroller and Auditor General might have said that the surplus goes back to 2015. Would that be correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: At least that.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Dr. O'Reardon would have to agree that this is not a sustainable position. It is an outrageous amount of money to have sitting in a surplus, not used. Does Dr. O'Reardon agree?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Given the length of time that surplus has been building, will there be more in the surplus by the end of the year?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: It is building and building. Will Dr. O'Reardon perhaps outline a few big ideas the Department has had for putting the surplus to good use and what happened to those ideas?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: What are those?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: In that period, has the Department not come up with any big ideas? You could go to any village or town and you would see early school-leavers who are crying out for an apprenticeship or training of some kind. I note that in his opening statement, Dr. O'Reardon mentioned there is an improved economic and labour market situation. That is true to a certain extent, but, as I said, there are...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Has the Department put those proposals to the Government in the past eight or ten years?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Will Mr. Beausang briefly tell me about one of the big ideas that was put to the Government?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: Yes, we need to future-proof.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: When was that report furnished?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: That is a whole lot about the process. I am looking for the delivery of the big ideas. Mr. Beausang listed quite a few, including digital transformation and so on. None of them have come to fruition as yet and Mr. Beausang stated that is down to the Government not making a decision to fund them.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: What is the reason?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: We are talking specifically about the surplus that is sitting there and building. Nothing is happening with it. The Department said it furnished a report to the Government last year and nothing has happened. Everything has gone through the Department. The surplus is still sitting there and being added to. People are looking for training and trying to access apprenticeships and training...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: I am talking about the surplus.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Imelda Munster: I will not use the rest of my time. From the answers, I gather that not a whole lot has happened. There is a lot of talk, a report went to the Government and the Government has not acted on it. We will leave it there. The surplus is still there. Dr. O'Reardon said that the operation of EU fiscal rules has meant additional expenditure cannot be sourced from the NTF. Yesterday...