Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:180 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance the specific purposes of the Secret Service fund; the persons who administer it; and if detailed accounts will be published. [14064/03]
Written Answers. - Departmental Expenditure Fund.
The purpose of the Secret Service Vote is to obtain information which is necessary for the security of the country. Given the sensitivities associated with a Vote of this nature, it is not possible to provide information on the persons who administer it.
As regards accounts, details will not be published, for the same reason. However, the Appropriation Account of the Vote for the Secret Service is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with section 3 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993. The Comptroller and Auditor General is furnished with certificates from the responsible Ministers which support the expenditure shown in the account. On the basis of these certificates, the Comptroller and Auditor General expresses an opinion in the annual published Appropriation Accounts that the account properly presents the expenditure of the Vote for the particular year concerned. This arrangement has been accepted by the Committee of Public Accounts of the Dáil.