Vol. 322 No. 10
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to an article (details supplied) regarding the 1979 accounts of Bord Iascaigh Mhara; if the Minister for Finance has requested that the accounts should be available not later than 30 June 1980; and, if so, if the accounts will be available.
325.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he will direct Bord Iascaigh Mhara to ensure that the audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 1979 are made available to the Dáil and the public not later than 31 July 1980; and, if not, if he will indicate his reasons for any extension beyond 31 July 1980, particularly in view of the wishes expressed in the Dáil by the Minister for Finance.
With the permission of the Ceann Chomhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 316 and 325 together.
I have seen the article referred to.
I have already informed the House that the audit of the accounts for the year 1979 has commenced and given my assurance that every effort will be made to present the annual report and accounts as early as possible. However, it would be a practical impossibility to have the accounts audited and the report printed and presented to the House by 31 July 1980.
The Minister for Finance has requested that the accounts, as distinct from the printed annual report and accounts, should be presented to me not later than 30 June in any year. It will not be possible to meet that deadline this year.
317.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if Bord Iascaigh Mhara sold boatyards for £1,056,655 when he stated in reply to a parliamentary question that the book value of the boatyards at the date of sale only amounted to £277,591.
The boatyards were sold for £1,334,246 and not the sum mentioned in the question. As is normal accountancy practice, the net book value of £277,591 did not take into account the value of stocks and works in progress which were included in the sale.
318.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry in view of his reply to parliamentary questions Nos. 371 and 372 of 18 June 1980, why Bord Iascaigh Mhara permitted a mortgage debenture to be created for £815,246 on the sale price and allowed £519,000 remain outstanding by way of a general charge in favour of the board.
The mortgage debenture does not refer to the sum of £815,246. The loans of £519,000 are secured by a mortgage debenture and a general charge in favour of the board over all the assets of the companies which purchased the boatyards.
319.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he will state, in view of his reply to parliamentary questions Nos. 371 and 372 on 18 June 1980, the rate of interest chargeable on the loan of £519,000 and the repayment, if any, received from the new boatyard owners from the dates of the closing of the sales.
The rate of interest on the loans is 1 per cent over the current exchequer rate. Total repayments to date amount to £52,589.
320.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry in view of his reply to parliamentary question No. 370 of 18 June 1980, how the net book values of the boatyards in 1978 given in a previous parliamentary reply were reduced from £549,340 in 1978 to £277,591 at the date of the sale of the boatyards.
The figure of £549,340 previously given represented book value at 31 December 1978, inclusive of capital grants received. The figure of £277,591 represents book value exclusive of capital grants received. The former figure is also reduced by depreciation from January 1, 1979 to date of sale.
321.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry in view of his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 369 of 18 June 1980 if £474,-891 had been lost in the trading activities of the boatyards operated by Bord Iascaigh Mhara for the year ended 31 December 1979.
The sum of £474,891 has no reference to losses in the trading activities of the boatyards. It represents the cumulative amount of loan finance received from the State towards the capital cost of the boatyards in the period 1947-1979 inclusive.
322.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry in view of his reply to parliamentary question No. 368 of 18 June 1980 that the State had incurred a bad debt of £1,555,730 as at 31 December 1978 in respect of the trading losses by Bord Iascaigh Mhara in the operation of the boatyards whether the Comptroller and Auditor General made any special report in relation to such heavy losses of State funds by the board.
The answer is in the negative.
323.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry in view of his reply to parliamentary question No. 374 of 18 June 1980, why the Board of Bord Iascaigh Mhara does not yet know the guarantees given up to 31 December 1979 now that a period of practically six months has expired since the end of the financial year; and if this information will now be furnished.
My statement that the information requested is not yet available was merely intended to indicate that it is not the board's practice to give details of this nature pending the completion of audit of the accounts. The figure, subject to audit, is £7,831,535.
324.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the date on which the books of accounts of Bord Iascaigh Mhara were made available to the Comptroller and Auditor General for the 1978 audit; and why he was unable to certify the accounts before 31 December 1979.
The commencement of the audit depends not only on the availability of the books of accounts but also on the availability of draft accounts and the necessary supporting schedules. Draft accounts and schedules in relation to the 1978 accounts of Bord Iascaigh Mhara were made available to the Comptroller and Auditor General in September 1979. The final accounts were agreed with the board's officers on 4 December 1979. Accounts signed by the board were received by the Comptroller and Auditor General on 18 December 1979.
326.
andMr. White asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if the Chairman of Bord Iascaigh Mhara is a full-time employee of the board and who approved of his appointment as chairman of a private company.
The chairman of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara is a full-time employee of the board. The approval of the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry was obtained to his acting in a non-paid capacity as the non-executive chairman of a private company.
