Results 1-20 of 1,055,234 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Jim O'Callaghan OR speaker:Seán Haughey OR speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan OR speaker:Michael McGrath OR speaker:Catherine Murphy) in 'Committee meetings'

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I wish everyone a good morning. It is infuriating when you have a witness in front of you and discover you have not received a fair response. In this case, it is fortunate that the witnesses are here a couple of weeks after the representatives of Horse Racing Ireland and the IHRB were before the committee. That is the context. A Department official was here. It is infuriating to have to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Surely, fit and proper person in the case of animal welfare is key. It does not matter if the walls of this slaughterhouse were paved with gold; it is how the process is conducted. Animal welfare has to be a central piece to that. Mr. Gleeson talked about vets who have an interest in animal welfare. How would that not be interpreted as a requirement?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: After the event. Is there an age requirement for an animal welfare officer?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: If the Department were to go to court with someone who was under 18 who was the animal welfare officer, would the court question their age and whether they had the legal standing because of their age?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Could it have been the case that they were under 18?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: This is supposed to be a position of high responsibility. It is supposed to be somebody who is trained, accredited and all of that. What does the accreditation process require?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Can Mr. Gleeson provide us with the detail on that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Regarding the licence for Shannonside, was there an amendment to the area that was covered from one licence to the next? Did it, for example, include the lairage?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I put questions on the last occasion regarding horse passports. I do not have the transcript with me but the impression I got from the official from the Department replying to me was that they could not understand how this could have happened and there were no concerns, yet we know there were issues with passports going back to 2013 and there was another facility where, my understanding is,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I do not want to go into the areas that are under investigation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Was the departmental officials aware there were problems when they were in front of us? How could they not be?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: The horse meat scandal should have made sure it was robust. Given that some horses have been raced and are not suitable for the food chain, there is a double need for this to make sure there is full traceability. There are big industries to be protected, including the racing and food industries. We know that is high risk. I ask about the five complaints. I talked to some of the people...

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: This is in my constituency, so I talk to people who live nearby. I am hearing something very different from a professional had gone in and looked.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I wish to skip to something else and I will come back to that, because I have a number of questions. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s opening statement referred to the centralised management system. Is that in place now?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Since the 2022 accounts, were any further pieces of land or buildings identified?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I also want to ask about the Department's staff complement. Is it fully staffed or are there vacancies, particularly for vets?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I am not talking about whether one could always do with more staff. Are there vacancies? Does the Department have the number for which it is funded?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: What about the special units?

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2022 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I presume the fallout from the "RTÉ Investigates" programme would have required substantial additional work. Is there anything additional being done? Are there additional staff being brought into the investigations division?