Results 1,781-1,800 of 3,444 for speaker:Shane Cassells

Directly Elected Mayors: Statements (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: Yes but I did not get into the nuance or the strategic nature of the issue. I did not use the term "one-off planning application" in my contribution.

Directly Elected Mayors: Statements (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: Indeed. I referred to signing off in a line manager and director of services capacity having received a report from a planning official. That is what I said.

Directly Elected Mayors: Statements (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: That is fair enough.

Directly Elected Mayors: Statements (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: Hear, hear.

Directly Elected Mayors: Statements (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I welcome the opportunity today to speak on this issue of directly elected mayors. I will start by reflecting on some comments the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, made last night in respect of the Local Government Bill 2018. The Minister of State noted that when he was speaking with the councillors' representative group, the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, it was not able to...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I have no intention of holding up proceedings. This was not just an issue in terms of moneys paid by the Department. There were the protracted discussions when the Irish Greyhound Board came before the committee and we were trying to extract answers on the massive amounts of money of which it is in receipt from the Exchequer. As Deputy Catherine Murphy stated, a very coincidental amount...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: The Deputy can correct me afterwards.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: In response to Deputy Cullinane, the Comptroller and Auditor General stated that he would need professional advice.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: In the context of making a determination on the value, will the Comptroller and Auditor General inform the committee that he cannot get involved because it was a policy decision taken by the Department of Education and Skills and that if the latter wants a facility in an area, it will end up paying whatever price is demanded? On the process involved, the Chairman used the term "remarkable...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (24 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I appreciate that we cannot prejudge. I share Deputy Connolly's frustration. This was a major transaction. I do not want to see another set of witnesses come in, bluff the committee and leave again. Quite frankly, some of what was said during the meeting with the Irish Greyhound Board was remarkable. We need significant examination of the matter.

Local Government Bill 2018: From the Seanad (23 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I wish to speak to amendment No. 7 which is grouped with amendments Nos. 6 and 8. I wanted to allow the Deputies speaking on the section of the Bill relating to Galway to make their contributions before I spoke to amendment No. 7. As the Minister mentioned towards the end of his most recent contribution, the amendment proposes the deletion of the reference in the Title to the making of...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: The frustration arising from the failure of this scheme to kick on has been debated here and in the Chamber. Frustration is shared by members of the Opposition, the Minister, who has spoken frankly about this matter, and the Department. The scheme is motivated by genuine concern to help communities but its format has not worked, which is borne out by the level of take-up. On the broader...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: On a technical point, there is a difference between a data controller and data operator and where the onus on the work output lies. In our case, the Garda is the data operator. It is the gardaí who do all the work. We want that role to be performed by the professionals, in other words, An Garda Síochána. The Garda does all of the work.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I wish to make a brief comment. The last line of the letter asks that this committee investigates this matter. The Chairman has pointed out that it is a letter to the newspapers to which we have been cc'd. I do not want to overstate the matter, but I want to comment because it has been published. It states that we should remember that the taxpayer has funded the GAA over many years, with...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I was very clear in my contribution that the money provided to the GAA from Exchequer funds is fully accounted for. It is a large organisation. I can be very dispassionate when dealing with Exchequer funds and I hope Deputy Connolly knows that. When I attended my own GAA club's annual general meeting last week, I saw that the public moneys it received were fully recorded and accounted for....

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: Does the Chairman know how the structures of the GAA work?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: The moneys from Sport Ireland are payable to the central council. The moneys then permeate through the provincial councils and to the counties. If individuals wish to draw people into something, there is a structure for how the organisation works.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I would welcome that.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: I am glad the correspondence from the CCMA, County and City Management Association, has been received. That is significant work in itself considering one has the Secretary General and the CCMA dealing with the housing issue. I note, however, that for the meeting, there will also be the chapter concerning central government funding of local authorities. That is a significant issue in itself...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Shane Cassells: While the Taoiseach stated that the increase in local property tax for homeowners will be modest, when one looks at the graph published in theIrish Independent, it is clear the increases will be anything but. Simultaneously, he said during the Christmas period that it was his intention that local authorities would be able to retain all of the local property tax raised in their own areas. If...