Results 6,961-6,980 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (1 Dec 2022)

Bernard Durkan: 366. To ask the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) can qualify for emergency treatment, currently not available under the GMS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60133/22]

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Does there exist a backlog of work at the office of the DPP that perhaps accrued during Covid, or whatever the case may be? Where is it at currently?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Is there a recognisable shortage of staff at any level in the office, or even in the courts? Are we in a position to process issues quickly, efficiently and in line with expectations?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: All right. What has the response been to contracting-out various services? How extensive is it? Are we satisfied about the cost and do we keep regular checks?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I further ask whether we have a tightly restricted pool to which the DPP’s office refers when contracting out or do we leave some people who are never called upon? Are there ways and means of ensuring there is a reasonable spread, notwithstanding the urgency, to keep the level of expertise to its height?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I will leave it at that for the moment. I might come back again.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: If this legislation had been in place 15 or 20 years ago, how would it have affected the financial crash? Could it have prevented or ameliorated it? What would the situation have been in relation to malfeasance or misfeasance, as the case might be? Can we look forward in the belief that this cannot happen to the same extent again without certain red lights flashing on the screen or could we...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: The Minister gave a good reply. I was one of the people involved years ago in the deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, inquiry. During its course, we realised all the things that had gone wrong, that should not have gone wrong, and tried to prevent them from occurring. Ultimately, we were given assurances concerning good governance, good auditory practices, there being no repeat auditing...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I want to raise a question about flood risk management. How is it going on and what are the sensitive points throughout the country? How many of them are in hand, and how many of them have run into objections of one kind or another? For instance, there are situations where there are plans to carry out essential flood risk management works but there are objections to carrying them out. How...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: If the Minister of State was to select the most prominent and the most needy cases for advancement, obviously Cork has got to be one. There are a number of others throughout the country as well, in order to protect life and limb, and to ensure in the context of duty of care that adequate provision is made to safeguard the various communities up and down the country, city and country, in a...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Is there any way that the Minister of State can accentuate the urgency of the situations for all or many of the locations concerned? Given that, for instance, in the Netherlands, the whole place is almost under sea level and they have long experience of dealing with this kind of situation, can we emulate them? Are we doing so and are the projects working? For instance, there was one...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Excuse me. I am a little hoarse. The chill is still around. It will be important to turn on the heat because we can die of freezing as well. With regard to the State Laboratory, is the Minister of State satisfied that, along with the necessary funding, the necessary staffing is available and has been recruited, or is recruitable, at the appropriate opportunity in order to ensure the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Supplementary)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Supplementary)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Thank you.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: Notwithstanding the reservations that members may have, and I agree that it is short notice, there is a lot of work to be done and it is important fundamental work in relation to the end of year business for the Department, we should proceed as far as we can and do whatever we can. If we find it impossible to finish the job that we are given to do, we should look for another facility....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome the Minster and his officials. We have had a discussion about the late arrival; I am not going to go into that at this moment. I am concerned about the size of the Supplementary Estimate at this stage. We need to get ahead of dead reckoning where budget is concerned in the delivery of health services. The dead reckoning is arrived at for a variety of things, which I am aware of....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I agree it is unacceptable that families or individuals with a life-threatening illness, have to go back again and again to refill forms while a medical or some other kind of expert decides they do not yet qualify. It is not good enough. It impacts negatively on the health of the patient at the time. It is especially unacceptable they have to get a letter stating the person only has six...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Bernard Durkan: I refer again to the State Claims Agency. It would be beneficial if we had an audit of the claims and their origins for the past ten years to date. The leakage in funds is sufficiently worrying that nothing else will show due diligence in respect of what is emerging. I saw files from two different patients during the week. One case involved a procedure that went wrong and had to be...