I wish to raise another issue before we adjourn. The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on waste in public services published last week raised a number of issues appropriate to this committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General should visit the committee. I was particularly concerned with regard to tax fraud in the construction industry, to which a chapter of the report is devoted, and fraud in respect of PPS numbers and false documentation. Will the Chairman make time in the schedule of the committee to hear the Comptroller and Auditor General and, more importantly, the Revenue Commissioners with regard to tax fraud? It seems that some of the tax fraud highlighted in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report will put the issue of the Ansbacher accounts in the shade. Will the Chairman make time in the committee's schedule to discuss it?
Business of Joint Committee.
I must first establish whether we can even go down this road. That is the function of the Committee of Public Accounts which is the specific forum for that matter and each party has representatives on that committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General reports to the Committee of Public Accounts.
The terms of reference of this and every committee of the House are that where a matter is seized by a committee, that committee has first call and it cannot be crossed over by a different committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General's report is seized by the Committee of Public Accounts. Those are the terms of reference of this committee, not my terms of reference.
One cannot have 13 or 14 committees across the House calling in the Comptroller and Auditor General with regard to particular Departments. That is the function of the Committee of Public Accounts. Its terms of reference supersede ours on any matter covered in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report.
The point I wished to make was with regard to two specific issues that are different from all other elements of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. Most elements deal with previous expenditure but the fraud in the building industry is ongoing. The fraudulent use of PPS numbers is new, ongoing and poses a long-term threat to the integrity of the social welfare system. The Comptroller and Auditor General has visited this committee on previous occasions. As a committee we are entitled to invite the Revenue Commissioners before us. I appreciate and accept the Chairman's remarks with regard to the remit of the Committee of Public Accounts but it only examines matters a couple of years after they happen. This is not about past events and the Chairman should examine those issues.
I understand that but we must examine the issue before we can decide on it. A previous issue arose with regard to forecasting tax revenues. I want to avoid a situation whereby discussion takes place here on a Wednesday afternoon and the same discussion occurs at the Committee of Public Accounts the following day. It is difficult to separate two such discussions between information provided in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report regarding abuse of PPS numbers last year and what will happen this year and next year. I wish to avoid unnecessary duplication of committee work. That is the principal reason we must examine the issue before deciding upon it.
The joint committee adjourned at 11.20 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 12 October 2005.