Results 9,681-9,700 of 11,946 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: There is another reason retailers and processors like it, which is that it allows them to exert more control over the primary producer. In terms of the product, there is a primary producer and the end customer but the people in the middle, whom, I suspect, are making the vast of the profits being made on beef, happen to have a set of specs that allow them to, in many cases, manipulate the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: To return to the establishment of the beef task force, we all recall the protests at factory gates. I am sure Mr. Dowling will accept that the primary cause of the agitation, which led to the establishment of the beef task force, was price.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Mr. Dowling's evidence to the committee is that matters pertaining to price are outside of the scope of the beef task force.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: In terms of the remit, the problem from my point of view is that we have beef prices that are potentially manageable if they remain stable. I have heard nothing today which suggests that we are moving to a point where we can prevent the type of major price fluctuations we have seen in the past. In reality, this means that many primary producers will have to endure periods of poverty because...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: We have a beef sector agreement that was reached in 2019 but that has not been fully conveyed to all farmers. Some farmers have outlined to us that there are major issues in terms of beef price transparency. In real terms, nothing has been proposed to deliver on that. We have penalties in respect of movements and age and no proposal in that regard. We do have proposals in regard to PGI...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I thank the witnesses.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I welcome our guests and thank them for being here. I want to talk about the technical universities and particularly the issue in the south east. Generally, does Dr. Wall know how many universities employ an executive director?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I mean the position Mr. Tom Boland holds in the south-east university.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: He is not aware of any other universities-----

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Dr. Wall's understanding is that other technical universities do have the same position.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay. Would the HEA have played any role in that appointment?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Would there have been any dialogue at all between the HEA and the technical universities on identifying potential roles that might be necessary?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay, so the HEA would not have any role in identifying the type of positions that would need to be filled as the technical university process was-----

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: If I am correct, Dr. Wall is saying that discussion around the structure does not involve the type of employment or contracts that will be required to oversee or support the amalgamation process.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: On the issue in the south east, the person who was appointed to this role, Mr. Boland, is a former chief executive of the HEA. Was the HEA asked for an opinion or an evaluation of Mr. Boland's track record by the university prior to that appointment?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: It would be standard practice if somebody was going to be appointing an individual on a €1,000-per-day contract that he or she would at least consult with the individual's former employers.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay, so the HEA had no input whatsoever as to whether this position was required, the criteria that would be appropriate for such a position, or any interaction about the fact it was the authority's former chief executive who was being considered for the post, and the appropriateness of that.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Would the HEA ever employ consultancy-type services such as those offered by Mr. Boland?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Would it ever be the case that former employees of the HEA would then be employed or offered contracts on a consultancy basis?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I am trying to get my head around the situation. The HEA is essentially involved in the discussions around structure but not in discussions relating to the type of positions that would be required to implement that structure, and has no interaction with the consortium whatsoever, even when a former chief executive of the HEA is offered a very lucrative role without any procurement process,...