Results 13,761-13,780 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: I note that the graph to which Mr. McCarthy referred starts at 2008. Is there any way he could give us the figures for a period before 2008? I ask because I suspect, although I may be wrong, that the number of bodies to be audited increased enormously during that period and if one goes back further, the number was much smaller.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Just a few rough figures will suffice. I do not want Mr. McCarthy to ---

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Does Mr. McCarthy think that penalties should be introduced for those who are late?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Out of 229?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Does that mean all the others are behind?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: This is completely unsatisfactory, is it not? We are just living with it. It has been going on for a long time, some bodies are a year behind and they do not give two hoots because they are indulged. Last week I came across another case concerning the National Transport Authority.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: It is late as well. Bodies in the private sector and publically quoted companies have to have them within three months. That is it, or they are struck off.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Deputy O'Donnell is absolutely right. If they were publically quoted they would lose their quotation for behaving like this. They would not be allowed to have a quotation on the market. These State agencies produce statements late, willy-nilly, and everybody indulges them. It does not matter. We get them every week and sometimes they are a year late.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: They should all be in by six months and available for the public to see. We are, as a result, quite often examining accounts which are 18 months out of date. It is ridiculous, to be quite honest. It is utterly and totally absurd. It is useless information. Deputy O'Donnell is correct. We should require that these particular stipulations of corporate governance are complied with and the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: I know.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Certainly, on the surface it appears as though 169 removals of State bodies mark an improvement. It certainly tells us what an awful state the quangos were in before the Government took office and how they simply had been created willy-nilly. However, when one gets down to assess the figures - I hope I heard the Minister's statement correctly - the savings have been worth €27 million...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: I thank the Minister. I could give him a list for the abolition of at least 500 bodies on top of them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: While the number of bodies I would create is less than half a dozen, I would abolish 500. The Minister is absolutely correct and, of course, I do not suggest there is no need for State bodies. I simply make the point that they duplicate one another in various ways. Will the Minister tell Members about his plans for new directors - an issue which is part of the sickness of new bodies - in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Will it be this month?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: 3. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current net quango count under this Administration; the numbers compared to the previous Government and the net saving to the State, specifically in view of the Government's commitment to quango reform; the number of reductions in quangos due to merger or abolition and the number of newly created State agencies and semi-State...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Bodies Data (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: In view of the Irish Water fiasco which has continued for many weeks and in view of the fact that the Minister has rightly set out new parameters for the appointment of directors to semi-State bodies and State agencies, I wonder if the Government has a new policy or a new attitude towards quangos. The point of the question is to try to elicit whether there are statistics available to show...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (6 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: 76. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the meaning of his statement in the budget speech that Departments and agencies will now be able to manage their own staffing levels; if this means that they may employ staff at any level they require; that promotions will be on merit, that Departments will be able to create new posts without supervision or approval; and if he will...

Finance Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (5 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: Last week, within ten days or two weeks of the budget being introduced, we saw a major rise in fares on the Luas, the DART and Iarnród Éireann trains. These fare rises were introduced at a time when the Dáil was in recess and while the row over Irish Water was raging. They may not seem relevant to the budget or the Finance Bill, but when we see a semi-State body acting in...

European Council Meeting: Statements (5 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: I want to touch briefly on our relationship with the European Union, particularly the fact that we appear to have an inferiority complex. Provided we can abuse the patronage we are given to make appointments to the European Commission, we do pretty much what we are told by the Commission elsewhere. The last time I debated this issue in the House we were about to appoint a Commissioner. It...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Payments (5 Nov 2014)

Shane Ross: 58. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the self-employed are paying 3% more universal social charge on earnings over €100,000 than a PAYE worker; if he accepts accept that this makes self-employment much more difficult; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42288/14]