Results 1,481-1,500 of 26,398 for speaker:John McGuinness

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: I can provide an example. The Department of Health is the most obvious one. Horse Sport Ireland is being examined by a committee in this House today in terms of how it spends its money as an agency of a Department being operated by the State. You can go down through the rest of the Departments. All you have to do is to look at the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General every year....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: The Department has what? Sorry, I did not hear what Mr. Conlon said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: Where they fail, what does the Department do? There are obviously failures in each Department. Some can be explained, whereas others cannot, and we just do not know what is happening in the Department. What mechanism is there within the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to apply the Circular 06/2023 and any other reforms that it might have in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: The Department is the Department responsible for public expenditure and reform, and now it has the added responsibility of national development plan delivery. If a Department fails in the delivery of the national development plan, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform fails. If a Department fails in terms of public expenditure, the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: That amounts to closing the gate when the horses are gone.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: Did the Department consult with the Comptroller and Auditor General about those reforms?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: Why?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: I can understand that, but he, his office and the people who work there are at the coalface every day. Surely they might have some suggestions regarding how one might structure a particular Government contract or, generally, a Government contract, or not, and how would one achieve value for money. That is his job.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: I understand that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: I am not saying they are advisers. Let me be clear about this. I am not saying they are advisers and I am not having a go at Mr. Conlon or his two colleagues here. I am simply trying to find things out. The Comptroller and Auditor General and his staff do the counting in each Department. They look at governance issues. They look at failures. They look at successes as well. I am not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: It disgusts me to see, year in, year out, billions of euro just sifting away. There is a big row about it on day one, a big row about it when the Comptroller and Auditor General publishes the big report and then it just drifts away, and there are no governance processes improved and nothing done to scale up the State to ensure that it does not happen again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: The circular, at point No. 15, states that all Government Departments, local authorities, the HSE, public bodies and all bodies in receipt of public funding must comply, as appropriate, with the relevant requirements of the infrastructure guidelines. In the case of State companies, the board of each must satisfy itself annually that the company is in full compliance with the infrastructure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: It goes back to the Secretary General.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: Even though the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform issues the circular and it is signed off by it, there is no mechanism to force them to come back to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform each year and say that, in accordance with point No. 15 of the circular, they have ticked all the boxes. We should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: A what?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: How does the Department know they do not comply?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: I suggest that the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform needs to put in a fairly robust challenge to some of the big Departments that are not spending their money as they should. I would love to see that expressed here. In answer to No. 15, I would love to see the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform tell...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: As politicians, when we are asked here by the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, and other agencies, we have to sign off and confirm that we did this. However, Departments that are spending €12 billion this year do not even address point No. 15 by signing off something and saying to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform that they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: The Department has to get tougher. That is my advice to it. Departments are getting away with murder.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Changes to Public Spending Code: Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (12 Jul 2023)

John McGuinness: It is not tough enough.