Results 9,381-9,400 of 20,057 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: The reply includes correspondence for Deputy Verona Murphy and transcripts of exchanges in the Dáil. In fairness to her, she has been raising the matter for some time. She asked a specific question that was not answered in the reply. If she proposes exactly what she is looking for, we can revert to An Bord Pleanála.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is the Deputy's proposal that we revert to the chair of An Bord Pleanála?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is it agreed that we request that information? Agreed. I thank the Deputy for her clarification.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: I accept that. In larger towns and cities, there is a need for apartments. For example, a number of apartments would be appropriate in Portlaoise.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Of course. In smaller towns like Duncannon or Mountrath-----

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: No.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: An Bord Pleanála is somewhat moribund at the moment, given the various inquiries.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: We will seek that clarification. The next correspondence is No. 1446B from Ms Vivienne Flood, head of public affairs at RTÉ, dated 6 September 2022, providing further information requested by the committee regarding contractors. It is proposed to note and publish this correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed. We will now move on to correspondence from and relating to private...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: The Deputy knows the situation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We invited officials and want them to come before us in October. That is it. The Secretary General has mentioned unavailability. However, the secretariat will revert back to them and we will confirm that we are actually requesting their attendance here and there is a requirement on the Secretary General...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: That is fine. The expected figure is €30 million. There are hundreds of millions piling up. The question has to be asked why some of these cases are not referred in the first instance to the An Garda Síochána white-collar crime squad to investigate. There has to be a quicker way of trying to get to the bottom of what is going on. When the report of the inquiry comes out...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: We should write to the Department of the Taoiseach about this. As Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, I have serious concerns that there are bills of hundreds of millions of euro being landed on the taxpayer for these inquiries that take years and, in some cases, decades to carry out, and no one ever prosecuted at the end. The findings are made and they go onto a shelf. The inquiry...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: I do not know. There are two issues here. I am not questioning the Moriarty tribunal report, the report on Siteserv, or the other reports.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Those reports are generally accepted. Maybe somebody else will dispute them. I have not sat down and spent nights and days reading through them either. The costs of this process have escalated into hundreds of millions of euro. The process issues a report after many years. It gets a day of coverage by the media, which is fair enough, since the media are doing their job. That is it, then...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: I suggest that, to start with, we write to the Department of the Taoiseach to express our concern about the escalating costs. We could firstly ask for how much has been paid for tribunals over the last two decades and what the expected final cost is. That is a simple question. There have been a number of tribunals.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Let us get it. I think, as the Committee of Public Accounts, that we need to apprise ourselves of how much has been paid for various tribunals and inquiries over the last 25 years. What are the expected final costs? The Moriarty tribunal is not fully paid for.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: Can we write to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for an updated figure and the expected final cost of inquiries and tribunals from the past 25 years, if that is going back far enough? We would at least have the facts. Then we can maybe see the options with regard to what has been happening. As a State, I do not think we can allow the situation to continue the way it is...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: I am sure these matters are raised in other countries. Maybe they are worse at it than we are. Maybe some are better. Surely, in developed countries at least, there is a better way of dealing with these real or potential scandals?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: It was set up for that purpose, to get away from the expensive tribunals, such as the Moriarty tribunal.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: We will write to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to get that figure. We can apply our minds to see if there are better ways to do this. We will write to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the first instance and get that figure. We can apply our minds to see if there are better ways of doing this.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Sep 2022)

Brian Stanley: We will adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 22 September when we will engage with Horse Racing Ireland. We have two matters to discuss in private session.