Results 13,161-13,180 of 28,162 for speaker:Catherine Murphy

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I have some concerns about that. We all know how precarious the housing situation, particularly the rental sector, is. Even if people are in house for a long time, there is a limit on the length of time they can stay if they are given notice to quit.

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: There is a duty of care to the individual who needs to get benefit. We do not want-----

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: -----the landlord getting the benefit from it. That is something where there is a duty of care, particularly for people who are vulnerable to begin with. On the sample of services provided under health supports, prescription medication and doctor visits are listed. Were they not all provided with medical cards?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Was there not a commitment made in that regard?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I am looking at this from the point of view of the funds being stretched, more people availing and duplication. Some survivors have come to me with criticisms of Caranua. Some of these were repeated in the work of another Oireachtas committee. Complaints were reopened when third parties intervened. There appears to have been some evidence that some of the survivors felt very dismissed....

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Would Ms Downes accept that was a feature, however? In terms of the response to prioritise urgent medical need, where did that factor into the work?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: That would have been a criticism. Did that change over the years or is Ms Downes satisfied that this applied reasonably well right through?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Delays were experienced by some of the survivors. How many are still ongoing?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Is that only from this year?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Caranua had preferred suppliers. Was it obligatory for people to use them?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: On the wind-down, what has been set aside for redundancies?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I am sure a certain amount has been set aside.

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Yes. I would appreciate that.

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Obviously there were appeals and there had to be a degree of learning from them. Were these documented?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Were they written in all cases?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: There is an unequal relationship between funders and applicants, though the appeals mechanism is a control for that. Has the Department ever considered conducting satisfaction surveys with applicants, or would it consider doing so for future learnings? That would take it a step outside of the organisation. People sometimes feel there might be possible consequences to giving feedback,...

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: We hope there will not be many more large groups of survivors, but that possibility cannot be discounted, given our history. If we are going to learn from this, it is essential to have a body of information that is not from within the organisation and that will have value into the future.

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I ask the witnesses to supply me with that report, please. One issue that is very important to people is making connections with family they did not know existed, as well as the work on genealogy, archives and so on. Are there GDPR issues or other issues to be dealt with regarding the archive and where it will reside when Caranua no longer exists?

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I realise that Ms Downes has not been in her role for Caranua's duration but she must have some understanding of the kind of difficulties that presented during its establishment. What would she do differently if she were starting out now? It is important to hear about that.

Public Accounts Committee: Caranua Financial Statements 2017 (17 Oct 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Ms Downes earlier accepted that there have been some failures in the controls and how the funds were dispersed. Will she comment on that?