Vol. 545 No. 2
43 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Finance the progress made to date in the implementation of the recommendations of the DIRT sub-commit tee of the Committee of Public Accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29947/01]
As the Deputy will be aware the first and final reports of the Public Accounts Committee Sub-Committee inquiry into DIRT contained a large number of recommendations which fall to be implemented by a range of Departments and offices. I will confine my remarks to those recommendations which fall within my Department's direct responsibility.
On 26 October 2000, in reply to a question by Deputy Howlin, I gave a detailed response on the various recommendations contained in the first report. Given time constraints, I do not propose to go over this ground again. Instead, I will outline the position with the various recommendations made in the sub-committee's final report which was published on 3 April 2001.
I assure the House that work on considering and implementing these recommendations has been given a high priority in my Department. Within the time allotted to me it is not possible to give a detailed response on the various recommendations for which I am responsible. In all, as a result of the sub-committee's recommendations, five separate pieces of legislation are in various stages of preparation. In some cases, a wide ranging process of consultation with interested parties has also been initiated as part of the legislative drafting process. Steps are also being put in hand in regard to the further studies recommended by the sub-committee. The various resourcing issues have also been attended to in consultation with the relevant parties.
Finally, I should mention that my Department is finalising a report to the Committee of Public Accounts which will detail the progress made on implementing all the recommendations made in the final report for which my Department has direct responsibility. This report should be ready for submission to the committee in the near future.
