Results 941-960 of 1,161,704 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (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:Eamon Ryan OR speaker:Paschal Donohoe OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Thomas Gould OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Catherine Murphy OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Noel Grealish OR speaker:Niamh Smyth OR speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice OR speaker:John Brady OR speaker:Thomas Pringle OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Willie O'Dea OR speaker:Cathal Berry OR speaker:Colm Brophy OR speaker:Dessie Ellis OR speaker:Matt Shanahan) in 'Committee meetings'

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: We will find out in due course and that information will be public. We all hope it will be. That is what we would expect. Regarding the costs being revised, they were revised on multiple occasions. Between July 2023 and January 2024, they were revised on at least four occasions. In seven months, we have four cost revisions. Would that be considered normal for a project?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I appreciate it is not a normal project because it is costing the taxpayer €289 million. I saw from another report that in 2023 the OPW's turnover was approximately €654 million. Is that correct? Therefore, I take it that it is a significant project. However, with cost revisions, is it the taxpayer who takes all the risk? Is it our side that takes all the risk? What risk...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: It is not on the OPW but it seems to me that it is always the taxpayer that ends up bearing the risk when it comes to cost overruns. Again, that is not on the OPW; it is on this House. It is on us to provide the regulation and the legislation to ensure that does not happen in the future. Again, that is not on the OPW. Regarding going forward with these modular homes, what is the story...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Then it goes on.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I appreciate that is not on the OPW but I definitely would like to see who ends up doing it, where that money is and what the cost will end up being. Regarding the bike shelter, for those watching, it is important to note that it is not a bike shelter and not a bike shed, as has been reported. If it was a bike shed, you might understand but it is simply a bike shelter. I note that Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe as teacht os comhair an choiste. I appreciate that Mr. Conlon has come in to answer these questions post the decision-making, although he was not there. It can be difficult to answer for the actions of others but I appreciate that he has come before the committee. I want to start with the modular homes. Could he confirm to me what the...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Does he agree that it would not be 120%?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: The issue is that it was 120%. I want to get to the bottom of why that is the case. We had the LDA before the committee just two weeks ago. We found out that the production of non-modular units in Shanganagh cost €409,000, which seems like a huge sum of money, but we are talking about modular homes with a lifespan of 50 years to 60 years – rather than permanent structures...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: We have all said there was an utter disregard of taxpayers' money in this instance. That is what people think. Could Mr. Conlon answer my question on that?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Then why were we told initially that it would be €200,000? It is a massive increase.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Who was responsible for the underestimation? Was it the contractor?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Which teams?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Which teams?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: We have the public sector spending code for a reason. What I understand is that the Department of children and equality did not prepare a strategic assessment report or business case reports, preliminary and final, as required by the code for projects costing more than €100 million. Does that not seem strange?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Deputy Kelly’s time is up. I will briefly follow on from that. I remember the OPW being before this committee previously talking about these modular homes before they started. We were told they could be picked up and lifted somewhere else. As has been pointed out, there is a huge amount of money that cannot be picked up and moved elsewhere, such as money spent on site works,...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: While Mr. Conlon may not have said it, it was said in a previous hearing of this committee when we talked about the prices of these homes going way back.

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It makes no sense to me either. Do they have planning permission for anything other than their current use? Do they require planning permission if they are being used for something else?

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (22 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Okay. I now move to Deputy O'Connor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for inviting me to discuss COP29, which is scheduled to commence in Baku, Azerbaijan, in less than three weeks. I recently attended the pre-COP meetings in Baku, during which I was honoured to be formally announced by the COP29 presidency as one half of the ministerial pairing leading negotiations on adaptation. I thank the Chair for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on COP29 (22 Oct 2024)

Eamon Ryan: I agree. We have an obligation on the international stage, wherever we are, to raise the concern we have about what is happening in the Middle East. I do not want in any way to minimise that, but we have similar concerns about what is happening in Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan and elsewhere. However, "Yes" is the answer. We would look for whatever opportunity we can. We need to remember...