Yearly Archives: 2017

Right now.

In the Dáil.

In his first Leaders’ Questions.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar responds to questions about the appointment of former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal.

Watch live here

Previously: Faster!

UPDATE:

During Leaders’ Questions.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin claimed a payment made to Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty was in breach of legislation.

Brendan Howlin said:

“Taoiseach, last week, you unveiled your new Cabinet. It included  an unprecedented number of ministers of state with the right to attend at Cabinet. Within 24 hours, it emerged that one of these four ministers could not receive the corresponding allowance without a change in the law….

“Over the weekend, the situation got worse. It has now emerged that a payment of a a third such allowance to the Government chief whip [Regina Doherty] from last year was also unlawful.

“The whip was paid an allowance of €15,829 for her role as Government whip. No such position exists under law. It is clear from documents released under Freedom of Information that the allowance was paid to the Government whip on the understanding that the Government whip was actually being paid for her responsibilities as Fine Gael whip. This might seem like a technical and minor matter however,r under the law, no allowance can be paid to a party whip, if that person is a minister or a minister for state.

“This means that you cannot pay such an allowance to the new Government chief whip. It also means that an illegal overpayment has been made to Minster Doherty.

Related: Doherty faces repaying €16k to the State (Irish Independent)

Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan and Sinn Fein TD David Cullinan in the Public Accounts Committee

This afternoon.

At the Public Accounts Committee.

Garda Commissioner Nóiriín O’Sullivan is continuing to be questioned in relation to the financial irregularities at the Garda College.

Readers will recall how Ms O’Sullivan has maintained that she first became aware of these issues on July 27, 2015.

And that the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy was not told until May 31, 2016  – by head of Internal Audit Niall Kelly.

Mr McCarthy told the PAC previously, and this morning, that the matters should have been referred to him immediately.

It has now emerged Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan sent a letter to the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy on July 31, 2015.

From this morning’s PAC…

David Cullinane: “I just want to get to a letter that you did send Mr McCarthy and he furnished this committee with the letter. The 31st of July, 2015. Was that before or after you were made aware of the irregularities at the Garda Training College?”

Noirin O’Sullivan: “It was four days after.”

Cullinane: “And was this a letter of representation or understanding, Mr McCarthy?”

Seamus McCarthy: “A letter of representation.”

Cullinane: “And what is a letter of representation?”

McCarthy: “It’s a letter that we seek from an Accounting Officer at the end of the aduit to basically confirm to us that all accounting records have been made available and that all information that should be brought to our attention has been.”

Cullinane: “And I’m reading from it her, Commissioner. It says:

‘I can confirm to the best of my knowledge and believe, and having made appropriate enquiries of my officials at An Garda Siochana, the following representations, which are given to you in connection with your audit of the Appropriation Account for Vote 20 (An Garda Siochana) for the year…

‘I am satisfied that the expenditures and receipts enclosed in the Appropriation Account for the Vote have been applied only to the extent and the purposes indicated…

‘All the accounting records have been provided to you for the purpose of your audit and all the transactions undertaken by An Garda Siochana have been properly reflected and recorded…

‘I have disclosed to you all the instances of loss, fraud or irregularity are known to have occurred or have been reported in the year.’

“So irregularities were reported to you and here you are on the 31st of July, 2015, sending a letter to the Comptroller and Auditor General saying that you have disclosed all instances of irregularities. You did not, Commissioner, disclose all instances of irregularities.”

O’Sullivan: “Well, deputy, what I had been informed on the 27th, on the evening of the 27th. What I was informed was, in the report from Mr Ruane that basically Mr Barrett had identified a number of issues. The nature of…”

Cullinane: “No, no, sorry Commissioner, that’s not the case, I asked you earlier on and you were very clear to this committee that the first time you became aware of irregularities in the Garda Training College in July 2015. You were briefed on the issues, you had a meeting with Mr Barrett and others I take it aswell. But you were most certainly aware of the issues involved

O’Sullivan: “Deputy, can I be very clear on what I knew. What I knew was that Mr Barrett had raised certain matters with Mr Ruane, our Head of Legal Affairs. Mr Ruane had reported those matters to the Deputy Commissioner Strategy Governance. That was on the 27th. On the 28th I got a report – so three days before this letters was issued –  I got a report from the Deputy Commissioner. I caused enquiries to be made in my office…”

Later

Cullinane: “With respect, you’re counting down the clock..”

O’Sullivan: “No, I am not Deputy…”

Earlier: A Templemore Timeline

On the occasion of World Refugee Day…

Tom Moylan writes:

172 years ago there was a great famine in Ireland. This period of mass starvation, disease and emigration led to one million dying and one million more desperately boarding ships – often overcrowded, poorly maintained, and badly provisioned vessels, known as coffin ships – in the hope of escaping their dire situation and starting new lives.

The experience has made its way into our folklore, our culture, almost embedded itself into our very DNA.

When the Irish got where they were going (if they had survived the trip) they were welcomed with suspicion and hostility. In the USA and the UK they were considered a violent backwards culture that was incompatible with American and British society

There were a few who helped and made the small impact that they could, despite intense political pressure not to do so. These people are remembered by the Irish to this day – the Quakers, the Choctaw Native Americans, a few more.

Just saying. #WorldRefugeeDay

Fight!

World Refugee Day (UN)

From left: Maire Whelan; President Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

The letter, which is confidential and known as a “warrant of appointment”, insisted President Higgins ratify Ms Whelan’s role in the appeals court immediately.

The unpublished letter is understood to have included a “specific” demand that the appointment be made on Monday morning, despite the fact the timeline had until then not been the subject of any discussion.

While no formal reason was included in the letter explaining the schedule being sought, sources close to the process said they believe the timeline was put forward to ensure the position was set in stone before any Dáil or Cabinet criticism today.

Fight!

Government insist Máire Whelan be appointed ahead of Dáil reconvening (irish Examiner)

Yesterday: With The Stroke of A Pen

Rollingnews