Results 8,821-8,840 of 21,149 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is fine. In fact, the remarks I made were simply to clear an inaccuracy. I will have to look again at the transcript of the meeting. NAMA officials had posited a scenario as to where this had originated and we had established that it was not true. To me, that much is duly noted.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: There is no question of NAMA not receiving fair procedure. The agency got a perfectly fair hearing.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is appropriate.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I agree. There is a strong argument for calling in the HSE in promptly either on this issue alone to discuss related issues as well. The correspondence from Deputy McGrath suggests not only that there is no one in the hospital but that it will never have patients on beds. That is his assertion. Whether it is correct is another matter.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is a great joke made by the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: For the record, I was only joking.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Deputy Cullinane has made the point about compliance in this instance. This recurs. One can set one's clock by it. One could nearly name the institutions. Are we making any progress with these systems in terms of actually complying with the rules?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Can I ask about a procedural matter? How do we decide what and when? I know a lot will fall to the secretariat and the clerk but-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: We are in a strange situation where there are lots of things we need to do yet we are trying to fill a hiatus. I am not taking from the importance of the matters mentioned by the Chairman, not least the issue of direct provision. I endorse what Deputy Cullinane said regarding the HSE and the arm's length organisations. We talked about this previously. I am mindful that resources are not...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Did the Taoiseach not hear my question?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is fantastic but it does not answer my question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Does the Taoiseach influence the Minister's decisions?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is not what I asked either.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: In regard to the Taoiseach's statement that in terms of the trolley count the situation has improved on what it was before, one would think that he means they have improved on what they were in the dim and distant past. He means it is better than last week and better than over Christmas. That is the recent past. What I am trying to understand is the extra value the sub-committee brings to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I thank the Taoiseach for clarifying that the committee met on 13 February rather than 12 February. Having established that meetings took place, I will ask the Taoiseach about the content of those meetings. As we all know, despite the Government's trumpeting about increased funding to reduce waiting lists, including the resurrection of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, the numbers of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: And relationship counsellor.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: The question tabled by my party leader, an Teachta Adams, was specifically about meetings relating to Brexit since 1 December. The Taoiseach might clarify the position in terms of that timeline. I raised these issues with the Taoiseach earlier and the lack of coherence in the Government's approach to the issue is alarming. I know the Taoiseach could stand up again and list all the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: Is this an internal Government facility?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: I want to cut to the chase. Is this a facility afforded to Government Deputies for the smooth passage and organisation of Government business?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (18 Jan 2017)

Mary Lou McDonald: We have now established that it is not purely a facility for Government. Rather, it is a liaison facility for the Oireachtas as a whole. I ask the Taoiseach to assist me with this assertion. Can the Taoiseach tell us the extent of the liaison with the Oireachtas? It is, notwithstanding the recollection of Deputy Breathnach of receiving an e-mail, news to lots of us that such a facility...