Results 541-560 of 3,336 for speaker:Kate O'Connell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: That seems kind of obvious. I am not being smart, but one cannot run a service without doctors. He was just stating the obvious. How is the HSE going to address the constant issue of the manager being over the medical person?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I am not suggesting they do not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I worked as a cleaner in a hospital.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I understand all the way down through the system works.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I am not suggesting otherwise for one minute.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I will pick up on the role of An Bord Pleanála with regard to climate. Is it fair to say a data centre, which uses a lot of water and would have a high carbon footprint but very little social dividend in the way of employment and community gain after the construction phase, would be a project An Bord Pleanála would look at in terms of climate impact? Might it be part of its role...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: Is there any role, for An Bord Pleanála or the Department, in looking at the standards for the type of concrete used or other aspects of the carbon impact?

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: They are fluid, which means that things emerge nearly every week and they are reviewed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: That is what I am really getting at - the production of the product to build the infrastructure. I go back to An Bord Pleanála's compliance target, the IT system and the delays in 2017 and 2018. The witnesses have noted that last year there were 2,900 cases. To clarify, if Deputy Connolly wants to build 200 houses, that is considered to be one case and if I want to build a shed, that...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: One case does not involve one item. A case can be massive or it can be small. The figure of 80% achieved just refers to 80% of the files. It does not have any bearing on the size of the files.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: Is the figure of 20% of cases in which the target is not reached mainly made up of big, rather than middle-sized, projects?

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: They are included in the figure of 80%.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I refer to the delays in the IT system. I understand how something can be delayed. A lot of people have received letters stating their case was not dealt with within the 18-week period and that it would be dealt with within a few more weeks. When those few weeks passed by, they received another letter stating it would be dealt with in another few weeks. This was a source of much...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: Does An Bord Pleanála tell the people concerned?

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I wish to get back to the earlier points about the ten-person board. It was said the public would not know that there were three people involved. Some 2,900 cases were processed last year. I am not being smart, but for how many days a year does An Bord Pleanála work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: For how many days? To me, full-time means 90 hours a week. I am not really sure what others do.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: Somebody clever can do the sums. I am just commenting on other assertions made here. I cannot see how it is technically possible or realistic for the ten people to consider all 2,900 cases. I am sure members of the public do not make the calculation. Three members of the board make a decision on a case. As I said at the start, a case could involve a shed at the back of a property or 200...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I wish to ask about the ability of people on the board to speak up. Are there cases where other members of the board come to Mr. Walsh with the view that he has not made the correct decision on who is to look at a certain case? Does another member of the board ever say that perhaps member No. 8 should be involved also? Do the other members of the board come together and recommend having...

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: I do not want the message to go out from this committee that three random members of the board turn up on random days and pull cases out of a hat. I do not want that to be the narrative because I do not believe that is the case.

Public Accounts Committee: 2018 Financial Statements of An Bord Pleanála (3 Oct 2019)

Kate O'Connell: Reference has been made to cases in which An Bord Pleanála has conceded on procedural issues. They account for 0.3% of the total number of cases. As Mr. Walsh said, An Bord Pleanála decided not to spend taxpayers' money in chasing something it was not going to win. Is that a fair way of characterising it?