COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS debate -
Thursday, 10 Jul 2014

Business of Committee

Chairman

Are the minutes of the meeting of 3 July 2014 agreed? Agreed. No matters arise from the minutes.

I refer to correspondence received since Thursday, 3 July 2014. No. 3A is correspondence from Accounting Officers. No. 3A.1 is correspondence, dated 3 July 2014, from the Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht regarding the sale of Arramara Teo by Údarás na Gaeltachta to Acadian Seaplants Ltd to be noted and published and a copy to be forwarded to Mr. Tony Barrett who corresponded with the committee on the issue. No. 3A.2 is correspondence, dated 2 July 2014, from the chief executive officer of the Road Safety Authority regarding further information requested at our meeting on 19 June 2014 to be noted and published. A number of individuals were named in this correspondence regarding penalty points and to be fair to them, their names will be redacted before publication.

No. 3B is individual correspondence. No. 3B.1 is correspondence, received from Mr. Thomas Reed, breeding director, Warmblood Studbook of Ireland regarding defective recognition and funding of Horse Sport Ireland by the Irish Sports Council, to be noted. We are awaiting a response from the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Agriculture, Food and the Marine and a note from the Irish Sports Council on the funding to Horse Sport Ireland. A copy of this correspondence will be sent to these offices. Has the clerk to the committee any idea how long will it take for them to respond regarding the structure and governance of the organisation? Will he remind them?

Clerk to the Committee

Yes.

Chairman

No. 3B.2 is correspondence, dated 3 July 2014, from the Secretary General, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht regarding a response to correspondence from Mr. Mark Darley, Abbey Theatre pension scheme, to be noted and a copy forwarded to Mr. Darley.

Correspondence received from Deputy Simon Harris regarding Tank Field, Cork, is to be noted. This matter was previously examined by the committee. We will forward the correspondence to the Department for an updated detailed note on the matter.

Deputy Simon Harris

I thank the clerk for his assistance on this. I know the Department has engaged with the committee before and I know some of it may come into the realm of policy. However, the citizen who has corresponded with me makes some legitimate points about regulation, propriety and value for money. I would appreciate getting a detailed note from the Department.

Chairman

I hope the Deputy will be here to hear it.

No. 3C concerns documents relating to today’s committee meeting. No. 3C.1, correspondence received from the Department of Justice and Equality regarding the GSOC report and examination of practice, policy and procedure under section 106 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 in regard to the FCPS as operated by the Garda Síochána, is to be noted. This document is already in the public domain and we can take account of the issues raised in the report in the context of our own report on penalty points. It is Mr. O'Brien's report from the last hearing.

No. 3C.2, correspondence received on 8 July 2014 from An Garda Síochána regarding the briefing notes for today’s meeting, is to be noted and published.

No. 3C.3, correspondence dated 8 July 2014 from the Courts Service regarding the response to correspondence from PARC road safety group, is to be noted and published. This matter arises from our meeting with the Road Safety Authority and relates to the practice whereby those who receive court convictions do not submit their licences for endorsement. The figures are startling and we can follow up on this issue with the Garda Commissioner. It will also be of help in the report we are compiling on the matter.

No. 3C.2, correspondence received on 9 July 2014 from An Garda Síochána containing the opening statement, is to be noted and published.

I now come to reports, statements and accounts received since meeting of 3 July 2014 from the following bodies: Shannon Free Airport Development Company, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, Dún Laoghaire VEC, and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. The accounts are noted. It may be appropriate to meet representatives of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company to examine its accounts in view of the impairment charge.

The work programme is now on the screen. A number of meetings have been provisionally scheduled for the autumn. We received the report from the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding financial management and reporting for fishery harbour centres. At the last meeting an issue was raised about a particular individual who has an issue with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in which some matters were highlighted that we could possibly discuss with the Department under this heading. If representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine are coming before us to discuss this report, we could perhaps include in it Horse Sport Ireland.

Clerk to the Committee

We should conclude the Vote of the Department and then the committee can talk about Horse Sport Ireland.

Mr. Seamus McCarthy

Horse Sport Ireland is mainly funded through the Irish Sports Council, but some funding comes from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. The committee should have the 2013 appropriation account by then.

Chairman

Given that a number of Departments fund Horse Sport Ireland, should we invite the other funding bodies to discuss that? Otherwise we will not get them all together.

Clerk to the Committee

We could do that. Alternatively, we could examine the Irish Sports Council's accounts. Representatives of that body have not appeared before the committee. That would cover a number of issues relating to lottery funding, etc., that we have raised over recent weeks. We could have them at a separate meeting. It would probably be unwieldy given the agriculture-----

Chairman

With the agreement of members dealing with the work programme here, perhaps we should schedule them in for a hearing at some stage.

Clerk to the Committee

We will deal with it next week again when we have it firmed up.

Chairman

Is there any other business? As there is no other business, we will agree our agenda for 17 July. The suggestion is that we have a private meeting to discuss our autumn work schedule and the reports to be prepared arising from our previous hearings up to now. I presume the decision of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on compellability will be available. If it is available we can discuss that as well. Ms Mellissa English may have to discuss the matter with us.

Deputy John Deasy

When do we believe we will have a result from the CPP?

Chairman

We have no idea. The submission has been made and I understand a senior counsel has been appointed on their side. I imagine it will probably be out next week.

Clerk to the Committee

My understanding is that the CPP is meeting next week. I imagine we will have a-----

Deputy John Deasy

It is meeting next week.

Clerk to the Committee

Yes, as far as I am aware.

Chairman

The CPP is meeting and we will probably have a decision after that.

Clerk to the Committee

We should have it for next Thursday morning. We will plan on that basis.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy

I have a question on a separate report, if we have moved on from that point. It is on-----

Chairman

We just want to agree that we will have that private meeting-----

Clerk to the Committee

Yes, it is a private meeting. We do not have any witnesses.

Chairman

-----to work out our schedule for the autumn. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy

Regarding the report we are doing on the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, I see Professor Brennan's appearance before the committee is "TBC".

Clerk to the Committee

"TBC" just relates to finalising the dates, and I will have that done for next week's meeting. We will finalise that. That will be done and she will probably be here in September. That is the plan.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy

It is anticipated that after that meeting we will be able to prepare our report.

Clerk to the Committee

Yes.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy

Has any work been done yet?

Clerk to the Committee

Yes. Much of the preparatory work on that report is done. So it is just a question of getting that evidence and putting it in. We should be able to move very quickly after that.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy

I thank the clerk.