Results 8,001-8,020 of 21,149 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: What does the witness do?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Exactly. What is the purpose of the witness's function if he is not in charge? He is the Accounting Officer to this committee.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Coming in and singing dumb really is not the way to approach appearances here.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: The witness's state of knowledge is non-existent.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: What did come before the witness was the audit report. It also went to Mr. O'Callaghan. The audit report is very clear on many things, but I am citing one instance on page 23. It cites the opening of a bank account named Garda Student Sport with the Bank of Ireland which opened in 2015, and it was opened without consent. For the auditor to arrive at that conclusion he or she presumably...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: We are obviously not going to get back to this particular issue. We need clarity on this matter.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: We need to know exactly what the procedure is, how these matters are sanctioned, who deals with it now and who dealt with it historically. I have cited one bank account. There are dozens of others, and I believe that the witnesses are going to have to go on an expedition of discovery around that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: How is that relevant to that point?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I do not wish to be rude but we are tight on time. The Commissioner accepts the findings. These are not matters of contention. There is no "he said, she said, you said, I said" element to this. We accept that these are established matters of fact in this report. I would appreciate if the witness could come back with the facts on this situation. Section 41 of the Garda...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I take that as a diplomatic "Yes". How is it that the Commissioner did not, in accordance with her obligations under section 41, inform the Secretary General of these matters? She tells us that she came to understand the full gravity of things in July 2015. Mr. Waters was in situ at that stage-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: In July 2015 Mr. Waters was in charge of the Department. The Commissioner tells us that at that point that she discovered the full, terrible vista of Templemore, and yet Mr. Waters was not informed, as per section 41 of the legislation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I want Mr. Waters to stay in his own shoes. He is the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality. He is therefore in charge. He carries statutory duties and obligations, as does the Commissioner. This is not a pick and mix situation, where one can decide to act or not act. The Commissioner had an obligation to inform Mr. Waters of these matters under section 41 of the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Does the witness accept that the Commissioner, as a matter of law, has a legal responsibility and obligation to inform the Secretary General and the Minister in circumstances where there is jeopardy to the reputation of An Garda Síochána?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: The law is clear. Does the witness also accept that it is clear that the Commissioner did not exercise or abide by that obligation because she did not inform him?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Why can the witness not make that assumption?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: The witness has read the audit report and has presumably followed developments in this because the audit report landed on his desk. He does not regard those issues as being of such seriousness that they would have merited his being informed under section 41 of the Act.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: She was informed and briefed in July 2015. We know that. When does Mr. Waters believe that the Garda Commissioner received the audit report?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Has the witness discussed this with the Commissioner? Did he raise it with her at any stage and ask her what was going on or tell her that he was not informed and that he should have been informed?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: What conversations has the witness had with the Commissioner on these matters?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: The witness has no specific recollection. How often would he be in contact with the Commissioner in any given week?