Results 19,601-19,620 of 32,978 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is it behind in giving its accounts? What is the position in terms of the 2018 accounts?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Someone might just check that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is a service level agreement in place between the offices and how does that work with LRC?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is there an agreement between the offices on the services or is that set out elsewhere? How does that work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: The LRC is a good organisation, which produces wonderful reports. I was just interested in the processes and accountability but the situation has been formalised with a regular formal meeting.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is there no service level agreement?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I looked through the document in respect of the Chief State Solicitor's office. It appears staffing is an ongoing challenge. Could Ms Browne please elaborate on that? There was a delay, which came up this morning as well, in vetting by the Garda. Is this a difficulty? How is the office coping with the ongoing challenges, because that is a risk to the provision of the service?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: What is the current number of vacancies?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: So there are 30 vacancies in the Chief State Solicitor's office, 15 of which are new. How long have the positions that are not new been vacant?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Can Ms Browne give us a breakdown of the numbers?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Why do the positions remain vacant?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Are some of the positions be vacant for between two and four years?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Are any of them be vacant for that length?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Ms Browne might confirm that for us.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: My final question on these accounts relates to fees to counsel. How does that work in terms of choosing counsel? Are there panels or competitions?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I am looking at fees to counsel in 2017 on page 14 under the provision of legal services. Generally, how are counsel chosen? What is the procedure?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: He gets the final say, but after what process?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is there a process in place to allow barristers to come forward? Qualifications and experience are required and they go onto a panel. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: They are on a panel and then it is up to them.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts (Resumed)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (7 Feb 2019)

Catherine Connolly: In that context, subhead A3 on page 13 of Vote 5 is fees to counsel from the Office of the DPP. This is something over which the Office of the DPP has no control.