Results 501-520 of 1,021,525 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:Paul McAuliffe)

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: Who pays for that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: It is paid by the public purse. Let us not get into that, as it is a different area. My point is that there is a cost of €3 million. In 2020, a figure of €10 million was given for a multi-annual period and postage has increased over that time. This problem is only getting worse in terms of the postage costs.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: To be fair, I have allowed the witnesses a lot of time to talk about this so let me respond. The figure went from 19,000 to 27,000 and the witnesses are now saying it is in the mid-30,000s. That is over the space of the last two or three years.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: It is an incredibly slow take-up. My understanding is that it involves the teacher first making an application for a public services card, which often involves them doing it on a day when they are not working because that is how it operates. Is anything being done with regard to the public services card in order for teachers to be able to access that service within the school?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: How did the Department design a system that left it dependent on another Department to implement it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: When Ms McNally says “failed”, she means it was not possible to secure the solution that the Department wished.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: When it went to the market, no one applied.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: The prequalification elements excluded them through the process.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: This is not rocket science. Issuing electronic payslips happens in millions of organisations around the world. It is not rocket science.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: The biggest payroll and one of the last employers to come to electronic payslips.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: Why was it possible for ETB staff to transfer but not the staff of other patron body schools?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: Have there been any discussions with the trade unions? They would welcome discussions. We have to stop wasting public money on postage right now, not next year.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: I am not suggesting that the unions are blocking anything.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: What I am saying is that the Department needs to do far more. There will be many interventions over the course of a year, such as in-service days, different things and so on. This is a major priority. Some €3 million could be spent on all of the other things we talked about.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: Is postage not increasing?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: If the Department does not solve this, it will only get worse.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Office of Minister for Education (16 May 2024)

Paul McAuliffe: I have 18 seconds left. At one of my first meetings as a member of this committee, we dealt with the Department of Education. This was the issue that day. I have been here for five years and the Department has not solved the problem. Please deal with this matter before the Department of Education comes before the 34th Dáil. It is a major failure in the context of an issue that could...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Naval Service (16 May 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: On the numbers, there were 1,094 personnel in 2019. That is now down to 722. A determination has not been made yet on how many more are required to reach llevel of ambition 2. I assume that figure will be made available fairly soon. Irish waters make up 12% of all EU waters and 75% of subsea cables in the northern hemisphere pass through or near Irish waters. To monitor, surveil and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Naval Service (16 May 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy made a number of points. There is no lack of capital investment in our navy either in Haulbowline, which has undergone significant infrastructural investment and will have more, or for the purchase of ships and so on. In respect of enhanced patrolling of the Irish Sea and surveillance, monitoring subsea cables in our exclusive economic zone is very important. We have seen what...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Naval Service (16 May 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: I have no doubt that huge extra moves will need to be made in ensuring that we get through what is obviously a recruitment and, particularly, a retention issue regarding the Defence Forces in general. The issue many of us have is what matters and is seen to qualify as a priority by the Government. It seems removing the triple lock is one. Officials are to proceed without delay in...