Results 7,161-7,180 of 20,763 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I agree with the previous speaker. The last paragraph warrants further clarification. We need to break down what is included in that paragraph further.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I have a history on this matter. When I was a Minister some years ago, I provided the first funding for one of these schemes. At that stage, the Department of the Environment and Local Government rather than the Department of Justice and Equality had responsibility for the matter. The funding was provided to pilot a CCTV scheme in the Chairman's county. It is up and running and has been...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: This is a bit confusing. Employee assistance helplines, as we know from dealing with protected disclosures and all of that, should be mandatory and that is why I asked for a list of when they were put in place. We can see that it was done in some institutions in accordance with the timeframe, in some others it was done beforehand, and in others it was done quite late. It is alarming that...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I genuinely do not know. If people have issues in regard to their personal wellness and are dealing with these organisations, I understand that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: When we write to the HEA, we should ask if it is satisfied that these organisations can deal with any issues employees could have, particularly issues that could potentially end up as protected disclosures or corporate issues relating to the institution.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: They might deal with corporate issues. On one last point, could the HEA also provide an explanation as to the wide timeframe in regard to putting in place these helplines?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I concur with Deputy Murphy that the Minister should appear before the committee. I spent four hours at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Health yesterday going through this issue. It was useful in terms of what the Committee of Public Accounts will be doing for separate reasons. Prior to the meeting, I was not fully aware of certain facts. The board that was set up is a publicly...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: They are the same person. There is a chairperson and there is an individual who is almost a direct liaison construction officer. I ask that those persons, whose names I will provide to the Chair, appear, along with Mr. Dean Sullivan.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: He is over the board which oversees the project. I will ascertain his exact title.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Mr. Jim Breslin should also appear, along with any relevant departmental officials and the Minister. There are four layers in this process.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I welcome all the guests, in particular the Secretary General, Mr. O'Driscoll, and the director general of the service, Ms McCaffrey. They are both new appointments, to whom I wish the best of luck in their new roles. I have a number of questions and I ask that we have a quick-fire engagement in order that we can cover as much as possible. When will the investigation into the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: I accept the Department will not have the information to hand, but will it revert to the committee to indicate whether there have been any costs for surveillance in any of the prisons or of any prison officers over the past five years? Will the Department inquire across the prison whether there have been any costs associated with any surveillance of prison officers, and revert to the committee?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: That would help with a number of matters and clarify where surveillance is going on because if it is, there must be associated costs. The Protected Disclosures Bill was enacted in 2014. Why was it not introduced in the Prison Service until October 2015? Why did it need to be updated recently? The opening statements by Ms McCaffrey and Mr. O'Driscoll noted that a policy has been...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Does the liaison which the Department conducts include the Prison Service, the Department and any other body?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Mr. O'Driscoll has answered my questions and, for time reasons, I will move on. I am interested in the change of internal auditor which was made. I accept that the issue of protected disclosures is changing and evolving. We, including those of us in the committee, are learning collectively. I will not beat around the bush. We all know which body we are talking about, and Deputy...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: When was the panel put in place?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Will Mr. O'Driscoll write to the committee showing the tender, the documentation and what other companies were asked? This firm keeps on popping up. I just want to see how it was picked, how it was tendered for and what other firms tendered? By the way, it would be easier if the Department would hold its hands up if it was not tendered for.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Sometimes it is better to do that because if it is not done, then it means sending in a parliamentary question for the information.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: Regarding the impact on those submitting protected disclosures, some of them have to get counselling. Some of their family members, because of the way in which they were treated, also have to get counselling. Will Mr. O'Driscoll outline the costs for such counselling over five years by prison and other areas of the Prison Service? This is a cost to the Exchequer. Is there a loss to the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 21 - Prisons (17 Jan 2019)

Alan Kelly: That is not the issue. I am talking about 21st and 80th birthday parties. Being honest, we need to say it is happening and deal with it as a loss to the Exchequer or else debunk the myths. It is either happening or it is not.