Organisation: Public Accounts Committee

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>Angela Kerins (pictured) alleges she was subjected to questioning at the February 2014 hearing that amounted to a “witch hunt”. File picture: Collins Courts</p>

court and crime

Dáil has not offered apology to former Rehab boss Angela Kerins, High Court told

It comes after a seven-hour hearing in 2014 amid a period of public controversy about Ms Kerin's €240,000 salary at Rehab

<p>A series of emails to RTÉ, released under Freedom of Information at the end of last year, saw viewers complain about the service stalling, crashing or not working at all, as well as ads looping instead of the programme itself playing, and branding it a 'frustrating' service. File picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire</p>

news

RTÉ Player earned almost €5m in ad revenue in 2020 despite complaints from users

The Player has been criticised for long advertisements and frequent crashing

<p>The decision to wind up Benefacts was branded 'extraordinary' by vice chair of the PAC Catherine Murphy TD. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos</p>

politics

Praise for Government body amid closure controversy

Scrapped Benefacts database 'helped CSO fulfil important statistical reporting'

news

Senior health official says Public Accounts Committee has 'a few loopers'

news

Spending watchdog calls for investigation into €450m spend on unused PPE and ventilators

munster

University of Limerick penalised for second time as €2m funding withheld

330 new jobs and increase in student numbers by 4,000 as part of ambitious new UL Strategic Plan

Cianan Brennan: Delays spur PAC on to get to the bottom of University of Limerick's dealings

The withheld KPMG report and the difficulty finding a date that suits both the UL president and chancellor will only whet the PAC's appetite to learn more about the university's finances

Mon, 07 Mar, 2022

Public Accounts Committee told to ignore whistleblower information

Disclosures by Department of Health whistleblower should be 'demoted', committee was advised

Wed, 02 Mar, 2022

Number of HAP tenants to increase to 72,000 this year

The Public Accounts Committee also heard sharp criticism of the level of inspections in rental properties, as just 11,731 took place in the first nine months of last year

Thu, 17 Feb, 2022

File photo RT DIRECTOR GENERAL Dee Forbes has said plans to announce widespread cuts at the company were put on hold due to the

RTÉ Player needs investment of 'several million euro'

Public Accounts Committee told of 'minimal requirement' to bring the online player up to standard

Tue, 15 Feb, 2022

John McGuinness: Who is really in charge of running the country?

Real power lies within the civil service, but it needs a radical overhaul to make it into an efficient body that benefits the country, writes John McGuinness

Fri, 28 Jan, 2022

Cianan Brennan: RTÉ in need of a good tuning if it is to garner public support

For the broadcaster’s plea for a taxpayer bailout to be taken at face value, it needs to face up to how it managed to misclassify so many staff, writes Cianan Brennan

Fri, 28 Jan, 2022

Plans to get people back on buses and trains — cheaper fares and free tickets for kids

A 'kids go free' campaign could also be rolled out on certain services, it under consideration.

Thu, 27 Jan, 2022

Country's top civil servant given another pay rise

Robert Watt was awarded an increase of €81,000 last year — and has since received a further €3,000 boost to his salary

Mon, 24 Jan, 2022

Cianan Brennan: PAC stands solid in the eye of the storm

After a shaky start, the Public Accounts Committee has flexed its muscles a number of times this year, writes Cianan Brennan

Wed, 22 Dec, 2021

Government seeks new operator for €800m search and rescue helicopter service

€800m contract put out to competitive tender amid continuing controversy over consultancy

Tue, 21 Dec, 2021

Robert Watt refuses to answer questions on 'touchy subject' of waiving €81k salary hike

Mr Watt took over his position in the department, which had been negotiated with the increased salary to a total of €292,000

Thu, 16 Dec, 2021

Children's Hospital: 'Fair assumption' that project will exceed €1.7bn budget

Robert Watt told the PAC that while the hospital is expected to be delivered in 2024, he could not give a precise time for its delivery in that year

Thu, 16 Dec, 2021

Department denies responsibility for checking if people are self-employed

Under questioning from Sinn Féin’s Imelda Munster, Mr McKeon said that neither Social Protection nor Revenue had classed couriers as being self-employed using a single test case in the late 1990s

Thu, 09 Dec, 2021

Irish Prisons Service paid €5.6m to company outside of public spending laws

The Irish Prisons Service paid €5. 6 million in 2020, in a deal outside of public spending laws, to a company with whom previous prisons deals had prompted an ongoing external investigation.

Wed, 08 Dec, 2021

RTÉ criticised for failing to appear before Public Accounts Committee

Director General Dee Forbes was summoned before the PAC, but a fortnight ago she informed the committee she would be unable to attend 'due to a very busy schedule at that time'

Thu, 04 Nov, 2021

Failure to connect: How has the National Broadband Plan crashed so badly?

We're left with a plan on which €132m has been spent to date, which will eventually cost €3bn, and which risks being so tardy that the separate infrastructure being put in place by commercial operators, some of whom had dropped out of the NBP bidding process itself, may end up superseding it

Fri, 15 Oct, 2021

Cyber Technology Security Protection Screen, Advanced Cloud Data Security System, Futuristic Technology Background, 3d Rendering

National Cyber Security Centre will not have new director until 2022

Mark Griffin told the Public Accounts Committee today that the €89,000-a-year role “had been rejected, for reasons I won’t go into”

Thu, 14 Oct, 2021

National broadband plan: Rollout to miss target by 50,000 homes this year

The project aimed to connect 115,000 homes by the end of the year, but the Public Accounts Committee will be told it is expected to be 'almost 60,000'

Thu, 14 Oct, 2021

FILE PHOTO According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office, the Republic of Ireland's population has exceeded 5 m

Ireland 'in better position now than after the financial crash'

National Treasury Management Agency chief executive Conor O’Kelly is to appear before the Public Accounts Committee

Wed, 06 Oct, 2021

PAC hears 'regressive' closure of Owenacurra raises serious ethical questions

The PAC earlier heard the latest update from the OPW about its attempts to recoup a €10m rental overpayment to a private landlord

Tue, 28 Sep, 2021

FILE PHOTO The Public Accounts Committee has heard today that the primary contractor building the National Children’s Hospital,

PAC blasts Department's lack of transparency on National Children’s Hospital

Public Accounts Committee chair Brian Stanley decried that the PAC is “being strung along” on the final costs and timelines of the project

Tue, 21 Sep, 2021

RTÉ still has questions to answer on bogus self-employment, PAC chair says

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee has said RTÉ will be recalled to a hearing in the autumn to discuss its ongoing audit on bogus self-employment. The State broadcaster recently admitted to the Dáil Committee that a payment of €1.

Mon, 02 Aug, 2021

UL unable to provide evidence of evaluating €8m site purchase

UL proceeded with the purchase of a vacant site in Limerick city, allegedly for €5m above its value, despite concerns raised by members of its own governing authority.

Thu, 17 Jun, 2021

Driver theory tests: new examiners to start work in June to clear waiting list of 120,000

In Dublin, 22,000 people are waiting to sit their test, with almost 9,000 waiting in Co Cork too.

Sun, 30 May, 2021

PAC to seek pay clarity over RTÉ's use of bogus self-employed contracts

'The way this payment was made had to be dragged out of them, TDs told, after broadcaster said previously that the 'details are not made publicly available'

Tue, 25 May, 2021

Turf war breaks out between Oireachtas committees over bogus self-employment

The 'Irish Examiner' has seen a letter to PAC questioning its remit to examine the employment rights issue

Mon, 19 Apr, 2021

Irish Examiner view: Wanton waste

€10m posting pay slips

Fri, 09 Apr, 2021

Lessons needed from 'absolute scramble' to procure ventilators which were never used

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) scrutinised the deal which saw the HSE pay €14.1m to import ventilators from China

Tue, 02 Mar, 2021

Department 'cannot stop' recruitment process for new top civil servant at Dept of Health

The position is described as 'highly complex' and 'challenging'.

Thu, 18 Feb, 2021

€1.7bn national children's hospital may not be designed to deal with future pandemics

Serious concerns have been raised as to whether the €1. 7bn national children's hospital will meet the standards needed to care for patients during a future pandemic.

Tue, 09 Feb, 2021

Bill aims to broaden scope of State accounts body to monitor public spending

Organisations such as the FAI and Pieta House would be subject to much greater scrutiny if the bill passes.

Tue, 02 Feb, 2021

Decision to raise salary of top job in Health to €292k 'stinks to high heaven'

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy told meeting of the Public Accounts Committee the move raises serious questions

Fri, 29 Jan, 2021

PAC demands answers to 14 questions over €292,000 health role

Committee members call for process to be suspended

Thu, 21 Jan, 2021

Tusla spent over €7m outside official procurement guidelines in 2019

Largest non-compliant expense for Tusla was for cleaning services, on which €1.1m was spent with seven different agencies, the Public Accounts Committee was told

Thu, 21 Jan, 2021

PAC to probe if Robert Watt had role in setting €292k salary for top health job

Public Accounts Committee has commenced an investigation into the 'excessive' salary

Thu, 14 Jan, 2021

'Unacceptable' failure to examine value of €1bn Fair Deal scheme

The HSE has been told it must unite its finances and procurement management under one system as a priority in order to rectify a “serious operational deficiency”.

Wed, 13 Jan, 2021

Prison Service refuses to say if staff have been sanctioned for penalising whistleblowers

Director-general of the service Caron McCaffrey said she had 'no specific information' as to any such disciplinary action having been taken against IPS staff

Thu, 10 Dec, 2020

15/01/2013 Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley TD during a

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley to apologise for 'insensitive' tweet

PAC chair set to offer full apology but committee members say more action is required

Wed, 02 Dec, 2020

Civil servants whose mistakes cost millions 'can be sanctioned'

But secretary-general Robert Watt unclear on what sanctions those 'who do their job badly' would face

Thu, 22 Oct, 2020

McCabe wants to get back in his stride after travelling the hard road

Maurice McCabe has stepped back into public view as patron of an anti-corruption body, writes Michael Clifford

Sat, 23 May, 2020

Labour not expected to change decision to stay in opposition

The Labour parliamentary party will hold a teleconference this week, the first meeting since Alan Kelly’s election as leader, with the question of whether the party should join a coalition government set to be discussed.

Mon, 06 Apr, 2020

Details on Apple legal fees remain secret

The Department of Finance has again refused to release details of how much it has paid lawyers involved in the Apple tax case and the €14bn tax fund that they manage.

Wed, 22 Jan, 2020

General Election to take place on February 8; President dissolves 32nd Dáil

The Taoisech Leo Varadkar has informed his Cabinet colleagues that General Election 2020 will take place on Saturday February 8.

Tue, 14 Jan, 2020

Government spent €1.3m on phones

It cost €1.3m to buy new mobile phones for top civil servants and ministerial advisers since 2017, it can be revealed.

Tue, 07 Jan, 2020

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