Results 501-520 of 1,321 for speaker:Áine Collins

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (19 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: That is agreed but I have one further request. In the letter received from Ms English, she said senior counsel advice to the Committee of Public Accounts is necessary to see what our remit is but she said she would prefer to wait until after the compellability issue is resolved. Would it be possible to run all three together?

Public Sector Management (Appointment of Senior Members of the Garda Síochána) Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I thank Deputy Ross for bring this Bill before the House. However, it appears to me that it is premature and may be irrelevant because there is general agreement in this House that a Garda authority should be established. The key functions proposed for the new independent Garda authority would address all of the issues raised in this Bill. Public attitude surveys have consistently found...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Delays (18 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: 168. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in issuing an emergency medical card in respect of a person (details supplied). [26163/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: Discussion (17 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I welcome the delegates. I wish to correct an earlier remark. I complimented Retail Ireland, but I should have complimented Retail Excellence Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: Discussion (17 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: No. I have had experience of what we have been discussing. Mr. David Fitzsimons kindly came to Charleville and worked with retailers. They set up a town team and the local council provided training. It has had a significant effect and does work. Charleville is a small rural town; it is not the prettiest town in Ireland, even though it has very good architecture. Signage was a major...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: Discussion (17 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: The delegates are all very welcome. As a consumer and frequenter of all the delegates' shops, I can say they are all fabulous. I speak as a consumer, a mother and someone who works full-time. Increasingly, customers are purchasing online. I live in rural Ireland and the thought of going shopping on a Saturday is not one that invigorates me because of the time it takes. I want to do other...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 38 - Health
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Chapter 21 - Budget Management in Health Service Executive
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards (12 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I welcome the witnesses. Having listened for the past several hours about medical cards, I appreciate and understand the percentages and the financial constraints under which we all are, as does everyone in the country. However, the harm that has been done by the review is frightening. I recently had the case of an 87 year old whose medical card was reviewed six months ago and was reviewed...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 38 - Health
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Chapter 21 - Budget Management in Health Service Executive
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards (12 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: Can I respectfully suggest the heads of the Department and the HSE do that? It is an absolutely wonderful experience to find out how our accident and emergency departments are operating. I can assure them it will be an eye-opener. This is not about money but operations. The constraints under which staff are working and the bullying going on in our hospitals are nothing short of frightening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU Supports for SME Sector: European Commission (11 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: Mr. Calleja Crespo is very welcome. I thank him for coming to visit us in Ireland. The trip to Brussels in January was inspirational, as is Mr. Calleja Crespo today. The members of this committee are very interested in the subject of access to finance and supporting SMEs, and entrepreneurships in particular, and the challenges they face. On access to finance, I agree with Mr. Calleja...

Death and Burial of Children in Mother and Baby Homes: Motion [Private Members] (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. There is no doubt the recent highlighting of the treatment of mothers and babies since the foundation of the State has shocked the nation, and rightly so. Despite the fact books were written and reports were made on the issue since 1929, for some unexplainable reason society as a whole did not react to the serious consequences these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Commission Country Specific Recommendations: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I welcome the Minister and his officials. Considering what those in Europe are doing in examining the CSR, is it possible for us to examine some sort of regional funding in Ireland? While Dublin is doing very well, some parts of the country are still struggling, in particular rural Ireland, and perhaps in some counties we could consider having a county fund. I would appreciate an update on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Commission Country Specific Recommendations: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: The credit union movement. With regard to entrepreneurial funds, we had the business expansion scheme, BES, or the employment and investment incentive scheme, EIIS, which replaced it, but there was not much take-up of those schemes. Could it be considered in the upcoming budget with a view to making it more friendly to people and perhaps investments could be made directly by people into a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Commission Country Specific Recommendations: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: That one would be able to claim the tax back and that the tax could be invested in share capital and in that way one would not have to find the overall capital amount as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Commission Country Specific Recommendations: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: It has to go into a special fund and then the projects have to be chosen and they can be looked at after three years, whereas under the previous one there was a five year commitment but one could not individually pick a company. There is still quite a degree of bureaucracy around it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Commission Country Specific Recommendations: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Áine Collins: I am not saying we should get rid of it but there should be more options available to people.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Áine Collins: And it was not only in mathematics because we can now get information from Google at the touch of a button. It is about being able to solve problems across a range of sectors, not only in ICT but in the way we will move forward with various public partnership projects. It is across a wide range of sectors, and not just in mathematics. I would be concerned about that because we do not want...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Áine Collins: My concern is not about ICT skills in the future but the broader sector in which we want to be ahead of the market before the market tells us we are short of skills. I am very concerned with regard to tourism also, which I see as a growth area. As one travels around the country one can see that we are far behind where we need to be in terms of the level of service agreement. There does not...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Áine Collins: Great. I thank Mr. Ó Foghlú.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Áine Collins: I am very much aware of it. I was not sure what area Mr. Ó Foghlú was talking about. That makes a lot of commercial sense. Where are we on the programme in terms of the stimulus package for schools that was announced in 2012?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 12 - Contract Management in Education PPP Projects
Financial Accounts 2012 (15 May 2014)

Áine Collins: Have they come in at cost?