Results 8,681-8,700 of 21,440 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I would prefer if Professor Barry explained it as he is the boss. No offence is meant to Mr. Field.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Did the university have to make a settlement with Revenue?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: How much?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I just need a figure.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was the case I referred to bound up in this settlement, which was a travel arrangement while a person was on sabbatical leave? It involved a trip to Sydney. Initially, the expense claim was approximately €4,500. It was for a couple, in other words, the staff member plus their spouse. That got knocked back but a different arrangement came into place and an expense of €15,000...

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Certainly.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I am sorry to cut across Mr. Field but time is limited to us. In this case, I am advised that initially Person A was advised to knock back that claim because it did not comply. That advice was given by two managers, not least because the claimant in question was to retire shortly around that time and then, subsequently, a direction came from further on high. Is Mr. Field the financial...

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: What is Mr. Field's relationship to the financial controller? Did they work for Mr. Field?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: It seems that the direction for €15,000 might have come from the financial controller.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: There are other instances but the Chairman need not worry as I am not proposing to go into each of them. Person A brought this forward so Person A was right, were they not?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: So this was all kosher. There was nothing wrong with this claim.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Of course it had been approved. I am not disputing that. We know it had been approved.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I know the €15,000 claim was approved-----

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----but what I am querying is not the fact that these matters were approved. The professor has asserted that Person A identified minor issues that required improvement. That is not a minor issue. It is not a minor issue that, according to Person A, there was messing going on and interference from high level management to lean on staff within the university to award expenses that were not...

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: We will come to Mazars.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Correct.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was Person A wrong?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was that the one on spa treatments?

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I accept that was not paid. If that had been paid, that would seriously set the chattering classes in Limerick alight in terms of someone having spa treatments paid for by the taxpayer.

Public Accounts Committee: University of Limerick: Financial Statements 2014-2015 (30 Mar 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Who carried out the university's internal review? I ask the Chairman to bear with me on this line of questioning. Person A, and I assume we will get to Persons B and C later, came forward. The allegations were made. Let us stick to the seven, although there were more. Mr. Field had his own internal inquiry. Obviously, that was an assessment.