Results 1,761-1,780 of 4,042 for speaker:Cormac Devlin

Teachtaireacht ón Seanad - Message from Seanad (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Seanad Éireann has passed the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022 without amendment.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disability Services (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: I thank the Minister of State, and the Deputy for raising the matter. He has been persistent on the issue.

Summer Economic Statement: Statements (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome the opportunity to examine the summer economic statement. Clearly, we have a challenging period ahead. The Government was not found wanting when it came to supporting incomes, jobs and enterprise during the Covid-19 pandemic. People recognise that the pandemic was handled reasonably well. However, the increased cost of living is having an impact on their standard of living....

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome Mr. Walsh and his colleagues. It is good to have them before us again and it is certainly timely. I will take up from what Deputy Carthy touched on regarding the 2020 expenditure of €8.3 million in legal fees. That was significantly up on the 2019 figure of €3.4 million. However, the number of cases is down 12% on the 2019 figure. What is the difference? What...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Legal cases, not ordinary cases.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Are they all JRs or are we dealing with other types of legal case? Is it an 80:20 split between JRs and other types of legal cases?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: What are the exact numbers for 2019 and 2020 judicial review cases?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Mr. Walsh said about half the expenditure was the board's legal fees and the other half was costs awarded against it. He said cases have become more complex, but what has the board done to try to protect the taxpayer?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Mr. Walsh made that point earlier. In terms of legal costs, does the board have an in-house legal section or does it outsource that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Are those legal firms tendered out-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: -----and reviewed? How often?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Turning to two other items, Mr. Walsh mentioned the inspector reports. A number of these are overturned. Despite the inspectors' views the board takes a different decision. Does Mr. Walsh have a percentage of how often that is done?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Was that 2020? Was the figure the same for 2019?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: In terms of the board's decisions and attendance at the board - this has cropped up in the past and we dealt with it before when you were here - what is the quorum for the board to make decisions?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: What is the usual attendance at a board meeting?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: To me, a quorum is the minimum on which to operate. To my mind to operate on a minimum and have several meetings running concurrently would not be satisfactory given the outcome and certainly the position Mr. Walsh is in today. Is that going to be reviewed?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: That might be something for discussion later.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: In my remaining minutes I will turn to the organisational review of 2016, all 255 pages of it. It started in July 2015 and was published in 2016. I am quoting from the senior counsel's own statement that says "The Review Group was set a tight timeframe set by the Minister for carrying out its tasks. Sometimes that is the best way." Obviously only 36 of the 101 recommendations have been...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Does Mr. Walsh know how much that report cost?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (14 Jul 2022)

Cormac Devlin: Was it paid for by the Department? Does the Department have a cost of the report?