Results 721-740 of 1,051,982 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Marc MacSharry OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Joe O'Brien OR speaker:Michael Ring OR speaker:Kathleen Funchion OR speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett) in 'Committee meetings'
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I had no idea who was on the committee.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Normally, the members of the committee go first.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: I would like to speak. I thank the witnesses for coming and wish them well in their new-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Richard Boyd Barrett: It should have been members. In any committee members go first and it does not have to be discussed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: I will take them. I wish Mr. Conlon well in his new role. Of the existing management team, other than Mr. O'Connor, does anyone have an engineering, quantity surveyor, QS, or valuer qualification?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Is that it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: As well as Mr. O'Connor we have another engineer. What form of engineering?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: There is no QS, valuer or other engineer.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Okay. I thank Mr. Conlon for clarifying that. Is the OPW aware whether the preferred measured term maintenance contractor - that company or those companies - have loyalty arrangements with suppliers, whereby if they pass a threshold of supply, they gain a rebate?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Would Mr. Conlon not ask that question?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: I am more interested in a common-sense approach. I am a buyer of steel or granite and I am doing a lot of work because I am a good contractor. I am doing work for the State and private work and so on. Do I have rebate arrangements with suppliers, albeit that they win tenders, whereby if I do so much business with them over the course of six months, a year or two years or on an individual...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Okay, will Mr. Conlon inquire and inform the committee whether such arrangements are in place for any of the materials used by the contractors with suppliers who may have won tenders for the likes steel or granite? Do the contractors have rebate arrangements with them?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Clearly it does not, with respect. That is the practice. We are all here because the practice is flawed in the first place. It seems, with the best of respect to the experience the commissioners have, that it would be preparation 101 that I would want a QS on my management team if I were in the OPW.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Could I finish? I would want mechanical and electrical engineers, not just a civil engineer. I would want the State architect who I am sure is a grade 1 conservation architect and a consummate professional and I would certainly want a valuer. By the OPW's admission, we have absences for some of those professions. No doubt, the officials have a lot of experience. Mr. Conlon's background...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Did Mr. Conlon have any involvement in the children's hospital, out of a matter of interest, in his previous roles?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: It is a reasonable question to ask.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: I am sure the OPW does.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: However, there are none at the top. Sometimes, even if you have the experience but you do not specifically have the expertise, you might not know what question to ask-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: -----because you are trusting, like the OPW trusts the person who wins the contract to get the best possible price and operate to the highest standards and governance. Mr. Conlon is assuming that the QS further down the trough is doing the best possible job. That is the practice that leads us into trouble. One of the big problems is this. Mr. Conlon said earlier when someone asked about...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)
Marc MacSharry: Did he reduce the rent?