Results 881-900 of 2,564 for speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (4 Jul 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: The Minister of State mentioned the extension of GP visit cards to more than 50% of the population. Approximately 500,000 more people will be eligible for GP visit cards. This is fantastic and it is going to mean that those who most need GP care or assistance will have access to it. It goes a long way to addressing what has been a huge issue within our health service for a long time,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (4 Jul 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I am not sure how familiar the Minister of State is with west Cork.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: General Practitioner Services (4 Jul 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: That is very good. I would usually be trying to sell the place to her. I would tell everyone how great the place is and would say that it has everything, yet, unfortunately, the one thing it lacks is an abundance of GPs. That is why I am raising this Topical Issue. The Minister of State is familiar with the area. It is a vast area and it is geographically unique. In many places,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Jul 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I raise the issue of loans being sold on to vulture funds and the hardship it is causing people in Ireland. People and businesses in Ireland take out loans every day. There is also a practice whereby loans are sold on to vulture funds every day. They are restructured and sold on without any communication with the customers. Citizens are left completely exposed to these piranhas of the...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I will get straight into it, as those ten minutes will not be long going. I will start with Mr. Lynch. Senator Carrigy alluded to the fact that the former director general, Dee Forbes, was thrown under the proverbial bus. When I first read the statement yesterday, I was struck by a few things in terms of its timing. It came after the former director general, Dee Forbes, resigned. A lot...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: You are laying all the blame in terms of the contracts and the agreements at the feet of the former Director General?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: We know what happened. I must move on. I want to know what other documents you examined. Your statement is contradicted by the former Director General's statement. Your statement basically sets out that the former Director General was the only one who had all the relevant information, but the former Director General's statement states, "Following detailed discussions including numerous...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Okay, so you were aware of the underwriting and guarantee part?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Were any of the seven witnesses here today aware of the guarantee element of the third-party payment?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Did any of the executive board outside-----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I am going to come back to that. There was mention of pushback against this approach of the underwriting and the guarantee. Who was pushing back? Did someone have a conversation with the former Director General and say they did not think this underwriting and guarantee approach was the right way to go?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Who was aware that the underwriting guarantee approach was one that the Director General was looking at?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Did you, at any point, advise the Director General that this guarantee or underwriting of payments was not the way to go?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Did you or anyone on the executive board advise the Director General that RTÉ should not proceed with this underwriting guarantee of a third-party payment?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: It is lawful, but it is completely unethical, as we know.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: That is still very muddy. There is talk about pushback and awareness of some members. Obviously, the director of content is not here today, but apparently, according to the statement, he was kept informed of elements of the agreement. Do we know what he was informed of? Was he informed of that guarantee underwriting element?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Okay, so there was an awareness that the agent wanted a guarantee on the executive board-----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: -----but nobody thought to check for it after, during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, even though it was mentioned and there was an awareness of it?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: We know how it works. My concern is that there was awareness that this was potentially an approach. There was awareness that this was a request from the agent, but no one sought to keep checks on it, to enquire, to ask whether the Director General had stuck with that approach or not, and therefore we are in this position. I do not think there can be complete absolution from involvement...