Results 1,901-1,920 of 11,187 for speaker:Colm Burke
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: The other part of the scenario is that RTÉ is trying to regain the confidence of the general public. If the general public - the people who pay the licence fee - believe that not all the cards are on the table, is that not putting RTÉ more at risk than anything else?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: The general public have stopped paying licence fees-----
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: -----because they do not have confidence as not all the documents are being released.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: The issue here does not relate to any investigation RTÉ is doing. This relates to the functioning of the board as regards the management. The risk here to RTÉ is far greater. The general public have a lack of confidence in it and that confidence can only be restored where there is full disclosure. It is, therefore, to the benefit of RTÉ to make that disclosure. That is the...
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: I will move on to the issue of the barter account and the audit committee. There are a number of aspects to the barter account. There was the issue where advertising was provided as a result of people going through the account. Surely the management team within RTÉ was aware of the use of the barter account and that once a person was contracted through the account, RTÉ could not...
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: That is not the question I am asking. I am asking whether the legal department was aware of the existence of the barter account.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Senior management were aware of it. There was also advertising made available through the barter account at knockdown prices. Surely more than a handful of people knew about it. Far more people knew about this barter account. Surely someone must have gone to the legal department at some stage and said: "We are doing this with a company. What is your advice?"
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Ms Mullooly is saying there was a whole lot of transactions going on within RTÉ but nobody sought legal advice regarding the fairly substantial amounts involved.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Can I move on----
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: I accept that but what I am saying is that quite a number of people knew of its existence; what I am surprised at is that no one within the legal department was aware that if something went through this, it could not be claimed back. Can I just move on----
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Yes, but RTÉ has no right now to claim back any of that money that was paid out through that barter account. It is outside the jurisdiction.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: It is outside the jurisdiction. Even though all the parties were within the jurisdiction involved in the payment, the payment was made by a company outside the jurisdiction.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: I will move on to the Secretary General of the Department. When did the Department become aware that there was an issue in the 2022 accounts?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Was the Minister informed at that stage?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: What action was taken? RTÉ is getting substantial funding from the Department. It is also reliant on funding from licence fees. What action was then taken and what questions were put to the board its the checks and balances? Were they put immediately or was it a case of waiting to see what developed?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Did the Department write to the board?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: In relation to the Department and the checks and balances relating to State companies, surely when the Department gets a set of accounts, is there not a series of questions it would ask? For instance, the audit and risk committee was just non-functioning in real terms. It did not do its homework.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: This issue was going on for a number of years before the committee members found it. Is an audit and risk committee not there to make sure everything is done above board and is fully transparent? This was going on for a number of years, which they were not aware of. Surely they are falling down in their job there.
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: Surely because the Department was paying so much money to RTÉ, there must have been some level of scrutiny going on within the Department as well, such that it is not relying solely on the auditors every year. Surely there were questions the Department was asking, or why were they not asked over the past three to four years prior to this breaking?
- Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation and Expenditure of Public Moneys by RTÉ (Resumed): Discussion (12 Oct 2023)
Colm Burke: However, the Department is accountable to the taxpayers in the sense of the money going from the State into RTÉ and, therefore, there must be a level of scrutiny by the Department to make sure there is full accountability.