Results 11,001-11,020 of 20,765 for speaker:Alan Kelly

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: That is no problem.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: I understand.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: What happened here?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Then it went through the audit committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: The audit committee obviously went through a tender and got KPMG and hired a firm of solicitors. Some of the allegations were made about the same company that was hired to do the work.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Fine. Does Mr. Brownlee believe that if this investigation were being done now he would do it any differently? Does he believe improvements could be made?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Mr. Brownlee might just answer the question. We are under time pressure. Would he have done anything differently?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Is Mr. Brownlee happy that KPMG - and I am not casting aspersions on that or any other company - went about its business and conducted this in a robust way, that evidence was taken in writing and that everything was done appropriately and investigated 100%?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: This has come back in front of the committee because we still have lots of questions. There are issues. Who set the terms of reference?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: The audit committee of the college set up the terms of reference to investigate the college.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Fine. Let me just say the following, because this is why I asked about any lessons. The audit committee of the college, with, granted, legal advice, set up the terms of reference for the investigation into the college. Is that not bananas? If Mr. Brownlee cannot see that, I am sorry but there is something wrong. This is just insane.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: It is like any company being told to go off, take legal advice, set up its own terms of reference and, if it finds out it did anything wrong, come back and say so. That is crazy stuff.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: The whole foundation of the investigation falls if the terms of reference are not robust enough, but the HEA just accepted them.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Legally, it is the HEA's role to investigate. Surely, it should have set the terms of reference instead of having the people who were being investigated doing it themselves. Is that not just common sense? Am I missing something? Do any of my colleagues believe otherwise? This is extremely strange, unusual and, frankly, wrong.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: Okay, fine. Dr. Love is kidding me. This is a rapid-fire round, but this is just wrong. I am sorry but that is my opinion. It is not a reflection on the witnesses individually. Can I just say how wrong I think this is? The HEA is going to have to start over in respect of CIT and do it all over again. That is my belief. I am stuck for time so I will move on. As this is a rapid-fire...

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: We do not know. This is a judgment call. We are guessing here. I have a number of questions in respect of which the witnesses might write back. How much has been spent on PR firms in the past five years? Were any pictures or portraits commissioned in the college during Dr. Murphy's tenure and, if so, how much did they cost? He might also get his organisation to write in about the terms...

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: I thank Dr. Murphy. Legally, they do not have to be provided so the fact that they are is, actually, a good thing. I thank Dr. Murphy for clarifying that. Can a breakdown of the payments - even if they were appropriate salary payments - to the former head of the National Maritime College of Ireland be provided? I will not mention the man's name. Dr. Murphy was on the board of FÁS.

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: He is aware of the public sector rule for people who serve on boards and who are also State employees, which is "One person, one salary". Did Dr. Murphy receive any payments from FÁS while he was president of CIT?

Public Accounts Committee: Dublin Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology: Financial Statements (22 Jun 2017)

Alan Kelly: After that rule came in, Dr. Murphy received no payments.