Results 641-660 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (4 Dec 2018)

Mick Wallace: That is not true in Wexford. Unemployment is over 15% there.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: The Minister told us that €60 million is allocated for ICT in 2019. Maybe I missed it but what is the figure that was spent in 2018, to the nearest million euro?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: Of that €40 million, how much went to Accenture?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: I would like to hear the figure first.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: If the Minister does not have the answer to that question he probably will not have the answer to the next one either. Given that-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: The Minister has told me that the spend was €40 million, so at the end of November it is €40 million for the year. I thought the Minister might have been able to tell me where the money went. In previous years there have been huge procurement breaches in respect of payments to Accenture. By the sound of it the Minister will not have the figure now but I wonder if all...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: It would be good to get it. I know what the Minister expects but it would be good to hear what happened. It would be great to get that information from the Minister when he has it.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: On a separate issue, the Minister has stated it is predicted that expenditure will increase by 13.5% in the current year compared to 2017. The number in accommodation currently is 14% higher than at the end of 2017. The Minister has also said increased costs arising from improvements in facilities generally, including implementation of the recommendations made in the McMahon report, have...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: That is-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: On his last point, the Minister has said they are choosing not to leave. That is because they have nowhere else to go. The alternative is to live on the street, which is not very attractive. Is there anyone monitoring conditions in the centres? I know that it costs money to maintain them, but a lot of money is being handed to the private sector to run them. By all accounts, from what we...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: I asked the Minister a question which he did not answer. He tells me that there are minimum standards. I asked him what State body was checking to see the minimum standards were actually being observed.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: Is the Minister telling me that there is no State body monitoring these units? Is he saying NGOs are monitoring them?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: For example, if someone is building a house, the local authority is supposed to inspect how the work is being done to ensure it meets proper standards. Is there any State entity inspecting these units to make sure they are fit for purpose? These are units run for profit by private enterprises.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: The Minister mentioned non-governmental organisations, NGOs, but will he name those involved with making sure of the minimum standards, as there is no State body doing it?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: Will the Minister name them?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: It was not me who invented the idea that NGOs were carrying out examinations. The Minister told us that. I am just asking for the names.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: The optional protocol to the convention against torture, OPCAT, has still to be signed, and that would allow some inspection of units like this. Would it be a good idea to sign it?

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: I would die of frustration if I kept going. It is incredible that these places are not being monitored by a State body.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: The Minister told me NGOs did it and no State body did it. He will not tell us which NGOs do it.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 20 - Garda Síochána (Supplementary)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Supplementary)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Supplementary)
Vote 24 - Department of Justice and Equality (Supplementary) (29 Nov 2018)

Mick Wallace: We will go through the transcript later.