Results 17,981-18,000 of 26,408 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: I have a number of questions and then Teachta Connolly will come back in to finish. Teachta McDonald raised instances of where the Minister should have been informed of issues relating to the Garda training college. She specifically raised questions about the opening of bank accounts. The final paragraph on page 20 of the internal audit report, which is up on the screen, states:The Garda...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Does Mr. O'Callaghan have any knowledge?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: It says that no evidence was found of any gardaí having received permission. Is Mr. O'Callaghan indicating that it says that perhaps the Department had knowledge that the company was set up but that it did not necessarily know who were the directors? Is that a possibility?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: I am trying to put myself in Mr. Waters' shoes when he read the report. There seems to be a lack of urgency on the Department's part in how it responded to some issues. Teachta McDonald asked what action was taken when he was made aware of this and read the report about bank accounts being opened without the express permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality, and specifically the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Who did Mr. Waters ask?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: What did Ms McPhillips uncover specifically? Did she uncover any documents or has she had an opportunity to do that work yet?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: When Mr. Waters read the report, I imagine he would have had to ask the Minister whether she had read it. Did he have a conversation with her about the content of the report and the issues that were raised regarding information that was not given to her, as Minister, and banks accounts potentially being opened without her permission or that of her predecessor?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Does Mr. Waters believe it is the role of the authority to do all this examination work? Is it is his view that he simply just refers issues on to the authority and that is the Department's job done?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Mr. Waters had a discussion with Teachta McDonald about section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act and the advice the Minister received. My understanding is, because there was confusion when he was having an exchange of views with the Deputy, that the Garda Commissioner became aware of the alleged financial irregularities and the issues that arose from the audit report at a meeting with...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: But it has been done a half a dozen times. The Commissioner would then write to Mr. Waters under that section to outline the seriousness or the nature of the issues and he would bring it to the attention of the Minister. Is that how it would work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: That did not happen, however, because the request was not made.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: She made that decision and it did not happen.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: A number of Deputies have spoken about the human impact that direct provision has had on many people. Mr. Waters has obviously read much of the commentary around direct provision, so I am sure he is aware that it is not all positive. There has been a litany of articles through which we hear the testimony of their experiences from many residents in these centres. Some of it has been...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Mr. Waters was himself in RIA for some time, it was two years.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: So Mr. Waters has a professional view as someone who has been involved with RIA.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: In Mr. Waters view, were these centres generally run well and were people treated well?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Can I give an example? Deputy Connolly spoke about the question of how some of these centres were run and the level of curtailment of the rights of some people who were residents in these centres. In 2009, when I was a local councillor in Waterford, I received correspondence from a residents association which was set up in one of these reception centres. They asked me to come and meet them...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Would it surprise Mr. Waters to know that there was a local election that year, in 2009, in which the residents in that centre were entitled to vote? I asked permission to canvass the centre and I was refused. I then posted a letter to each of the residents there with canvassing material in the letters and I was told by the management that the letters were put in the bin. That there was no...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: Can Mr. Banks help us on this? I did write to RIA at the time and I was very disappointed with the response.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriations Account (Resumed)
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality (Resumed)
Chapter 6 - Procurement and Management of Contracts for Direct Provision (Resumed) (11 May 2017)

David Cullinane: I am trying to establish how there were rules around canvassing because I would think that was unconstitutional. I am now interested about whether or not these centres were being run unconstitutionally. People have a constitutional right to interact with elected representatives. They have the same right as anyone else to be canvassed and to receive electoral material. If the witnesses are...