Results 581-600 of 1,121,739 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Joe O'Brien OR speaker:Dara Calleary OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Darragh O'Brien OR speaker:Brendan Smith OR speaker:Imelda Munster OR speaker:Michael Ring OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Carol Nolan OR speaker:John McGuinness OR speaker:Robert Troy OR speaker:Frank Feighan OR speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Emer Higgins OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:John Brady OR speaker:Seán Ó Fearghaíl OR speaker:Cormac Devlin OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Peter Burke OR speaker:Noel Grealish OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Johnny Mythen)

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: It seems like an extraordinary amount of rent when there are so many State owned buildings. In terms of the charities themselves and the pay for CEOs, it has to be said an awful lot of charities operate on a voluntary basis and there is no remuneration whatsoever. For CEOs who are paid, the average is approximately €70,000. There were some reports in the media that said CEOs were...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: Are there any charities where that remuneration package is deemed excessive or which Ms Delaney has concerns about?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: We absolutely see the need for the regulator and the work it does in ensuring there is regulation and all the standards are adhered to, but in some cases it is construed that there is heavy-handedness in the approach taken. I do a lot of work with organisations that help the homeless, and I am sure others do as well. There was a brilliant organisation in my constituency that was set up by a...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: I do not want to get into specific cases or anything like that, but they were certainly not masquerading as some charity. They received small donations, similar to many little groups like that. It was a coming together of community activists and people who wanted to do good. I gave the wrong figure. She was threatened with a fine of €300,000 and-or a prison sentence of up to ten...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: She was told this is the process you need to go through. It is a cumbersome and lengthy process that would frighten the life out of anyone trying to register as a charity. The approach was very heavy-handed and wrong and there needs to be a lot more-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023 - Charities Regulatory Authority (17 Oct 2024)

John Brady: -----working with small groups like that which see a need to address a serious crisis, which is homelessness. Unfortunately, it was forced to cease operating like many other similar small groups.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Oct 2024)

Cormac Devlin: I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General's office for the report. I wish to ask about An Bord Pleanála because we have engaged with it before. The work programme may be a moot point at this stage, but it is incumbent on us as a committee to ensure that because of the reports that have been compiled on the issues relating to 2022, we have it in our sights for an engagement in the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Oct 2024)

Cormac Devlin: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. The Comptroller and Auditor General's office refers to reports that have been compiled on issues in 2022 and onwards. Are those reports now complete and in the Comptroller and Auditor General's possession or what stage are they at? If the reports are published and completed, that has a bearing on how this committee proceeds.

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Oct 2024)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Ms Drinan for that. We have spoken to An Bord Pleanála before about the internal control report - the second report to which Ms Drinan referred. Allowing for the chairman to have sufficient time and also to ensure this committee is diligent in its work, I suggest that in within the first month or two of 2025 this committee would seek to engage with An Bord Pleanála on the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (17 Oct 2024)

Cormac Devlin: I will come in on that particular piece of correspondence. As the Leas-Chathaoirleach rightly pointed out, the committee worked exceptionally hard on that report following on from the large engagement not only with RTÉ, but also with the other ancillary individuals and agencies. This is another item that needs to reoccur on our agenda as a committee. The committee was very firm about...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Vote group comprises of two Votes: Vote 35 - Army pensions and Vote 36 - defence. The 2023 Vote 36 – defence net surplus surrendered to the Exchequer was €18.1 million. This figure includes surplus appropriations-in-aid of €9.1 million, which, as the Deputy will be aware, cannot be used to fund additional expenditure and must be surrendered to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: People will be astounded to see the Department of Defence surrendering any money back to the Exchequer, considering the challenges that the Defence Forces are currently facing in the retention and recruitment crisis and the ambitions that have been set out, particularly in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. I have raised with the Tánaiste on a number of occasions the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: We have actually expanded expenditure. The bottom line is, in terms of capital expenditure, procurement is an issue in terms of the time it can take to procure, particularly C295s. The bottom line is we are committing to a lot of expenditure, which will come on stream. It does not necessarily fall in any given 12 months. I do not accept the Deputy's characterisation of the budgetary...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: I assure the Tánaiste that I would not suggest to the Government to throw money anywhere because it is quite good at doing that of its own volition, but here is the crux. For the past number of years on budget day or in the budget documents released by the Department, the Tánaiste has said that the budget includes provision for the employment of 400 additional members of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Every year it is put to good use. That is the point I made in my reply. In 2023, it was put to good use. It was used elsewhere across the Vote. That happens all of the time. We are down now to €9 million out of a budget that is close to €1 billion. We need to a sense of perspective here in all of this. I discussed the appropriations-in-aid, which is receipts that come...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Defence Forces

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Gary Gannon: 4. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he is satisfied that the Defence Forces, specifically the military intelligence branch, are appropriately resourced in terms of personnel, training and technology to effectively address the increasing demands of counter-espionage operations; and the plans in place to enhance these capabilities in light of evolving threats to national...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Gary Gannon: Is the Tánaiste satisfied that the Defence Forces, specifically the military intelligence branch, are appropriately resourced in terms of personnel, training and technology to effectively address the increasing demands of counter-espionage operations, and the plans in place to enhance these capabilities in light of evolving threats to national security?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it allows me to touch, on a high level, on the role of intelligence gathering for and on behalf of the State. As the Deputy will appreciate given the sensitive nature of such matters, I will not be commenting on recent media reports nor would it be appropriate for me to disclose the various briefings I receive as the Minister for Defence from...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Catherine Connolly: Gabh mo leithscéal; I made a mistake, Tánaiste. Questions Nos. 1 and 2 were grouped. I did not hear that being said, and I did not check the screen. I am really sorry.