Results 17,661-17,680 of 28,162 for speaker:Catherine Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (20 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: 1072. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount spent by her Department on third party public relations advice, communications advice, online advertising and public awareness campaigns from January 2017 to date in 2018, by year, month and company engaged in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11763/18]

An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: An Dara Céim - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: I am sharing time with Deputies Ryan and Healy. I acknowledge that this is a historic day. Far from it happening with undue haste, it has in fact been through a lengthy process, including the Citizens' Assembly and the all-party committee. While Deputy McGrath is entitled to his opinion, I do not believe that he would ever see this as having a right time. I come to this debate as somebody...

Leaders' Questions (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: I am aware of and respect the fact that the Cregan commission of investigation is under way and I will not comment on the substance of that inquiry. A statement was issued this week by the former CEO of IBRC in which he expressed concern regarding the costs of the ongoing Cregan commission of investigation into IBRC, including matters relating to Siteserv. I share these concerns about the...

Leaders' Questions (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: This is the reason why having things done in real time is so important. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether the commission reports to the Dáil? This is very important. On the legal fees - and these are the questions I asked - what response has been given to Mr. Justice Cregan with regard to that request? Mr. Justice Cregan sought a doubling of the legal fees last year. Will the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: If we were not being criticised, we would not be doing the job right. I think there is an element of that too. I suspect that the former Commissioner did not receive the legal opinion in a personal capacity. I also suspect that she received it as an officeholder, namely, in her capacity as Garda Commissioner. We must be mindful that this is not exclusive to the Garda Síochána....

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: Do the payments in category C, via the Probation Welfare Service or to the Garda by order, show up in the accounts of the Garda or the Probation and Welfare Service?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: We are constantly told about the shortage of funds in the third level sector and the risk of introducing further fees for students. That is the backdrop to the matters we are considering. The same companies appear to be used. I clicked into some tables and the I note the same entities appear. Essentially, these entitles are building up a great deal of expertise which does not have to be...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: I presume this comes out of the justice Vote?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: With regard to the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General on selecting something like this, a piece of work was done in 2014. Is augmenting that with this type of analysis something that is likely to fall into a report the Comptroller and Auditor General would be doing this year? How would it find its way into the choices he makes?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: Can we ask these questions?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: I have the correspondence.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: If it was the case that these funds were not being properly managed or the investments were not sufficient, it would fall back on individual families and the public purse.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: That is right.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: My letter calls on the committee to consider the business case put forward for the strategic communications unit and that we invite the two Accounting Officers, Martin Fraser and Robert Watt, to attend because they will be the people who have responsibility. A business case would have had to be made by Martin Fraser to Robert Watt in their relevant roles. It would be useful for us to see...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: First, I would like the committee to request the business case. Second, in relation to the process for populating the unit, it would be useful to know who came from where. Were staff seconded from different Departments or were they recruited? That matters in relation to the financial aspect. We have all spoken in other forums. Different committees will do different things. I expect the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland told me that it does not have a remit in the kind of advertising that was placed here. I will forward its letter to the Chairman.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: I think there is a significant failing in terms of oversight and regulation from that perspective. I know complaints have gone to the Standards in Public Office Commission.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: There are many areas to be looked at, and the two that this committee should explore are the business case and the process for populating the unit. I want to see the two Accounting Officers here. I would not be averse to inviting the Taoiseach, and certainly the person who leads the unit. I would be somewhat concerned about bringing in contractors at this point. We should first establish...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: It would be useful to have that documentation beforehand so that members could digest the information.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (8 Mar 2018)

Catherine Murphy: It might be worth our while having a section in our occasional documentation about those organisations that have their audit in on time and with a clear audit opinion, which might reward some good behaviour.