Results 17,261-17,280 of 33,987 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: These are capital projects that communities and the country want and which the Government is delivering. With regard to accountability, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and I have answered the questions Deputies have put to us and we have participated in committee meetings on this. Both Departments have made available all the information they have on the matter and we are subject to...
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: This project will matter for children's health in the future. We have acknowledged repeatedly what must be done differently for projects such as this and the lessons we have from this. We will progress with two priorities - seeking to deliver projects the country needs and ensuring that the national children's hospital is delivered - and when we move on to other big projects of similar...
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: There were agreements in place on how the loan would be drawn down and the circumstances upon which the loan could be accessed. If nothing in those agreements is commercially sensitive, I will make the information available to the Deputy.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: I assume that there have been communications between the EIB and officials in my Department. I do not know the nature of those but I assume there have been communications and if there is anything there that is not commercially sensitive, I will share the nature of it with the Deputy.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Not on the nature of a loan and how it is being operated. I would have been involved in the decision on accessing the loan. Nothing has happened since then that I am aware of but I will check for the Deputy.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: It is true there are matters in respect of the future cost of this project and how we can save money on it on which the Government is still working. That is why we have appointed Fred Barry as the new chair of the board and why we have a PwC report under way. The Deputy acknowledged that none of us has a monopoly on wisdom or certainty in respect of this matter. It is my genuine view,...
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: On the interest rate for the funding we have from EIB, I do not have that information. If the information is publicly available and we can share it with the Deputy, I will write to him with it. As to whether we have looked for a further loan from the EIB for the project, the answer is "No. We have not". We know how much extra money is currently needed for the project-----
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: -----and it should be made available from the Exchequer.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: I will deal with that. We tried to put together one utility company to deliver infrastructure for something that really mattered for our country, which was Irish Water. Deputy Barry opposed that too. Let us be clear.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: When we tried to put together an organisation whose job was to deliver infrastructure-----
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: -----Deputy Barry was against that too. Deputy Barry can make speeches but when somebody on this side of the House responds, it is not good enough for him. He has made several allegations and statements about a company that does not have the ability to defend itself here.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: The Leas-Cheann Comhairle may have warned him, but he kept going.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: It is important to state that every procurement policy-----
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: It is interesting that what he says appears to be what he has stated repeatedly in the past.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: To answer the question, a company has the right to participate in a procurement process. It is up to those running the process to decide what they believe to be the best value for the project. That is what happened in respect of the different processes-----
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Again, I am trying to answer the question.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: The Government agreed yesterday that there is a role for other tendering processes in respect of very large projects in future. I have outlined what are the characteristics of those projects. We will look at how we can conduct tendering processes differently in the future. It is not appropriate to go beyond that.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Kelly put three questions to me in respect of my role in the situation, the alleged dysfunctionality in my Department and the timeline for engagement with the Minister for Health. First, what was my role? As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have responsibility for the use of taxpayers' money. I acknowledge that. I have done so on many different occasions.
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: Clearly, an issue developed here -it has developed on my watch - in respect of a cost estimate and it has led to very serious concerns in this House and throughout the country. What would I have done differently and what are my learnings from what has happened? Yesterday, I published an entire set of different proposals on how we can change the procurement process relating to vary large...
- National Children's Hospital: Statements (13 Feb 2019)
Paschal Donohoe: That matters because the Deputy is making an allegation about the operation of my Department and we are acknowledging-----