Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2020 Appropriation Account and report on COVID-19 restart grant schemes with Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The meeting in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, and will be split into two sessions.

The morning session, from 9.30am-12.30pm, will be with officials from the Department, led by the Secretary General, Dr Orlaigh Quinn, and will examine:

• Appropriation Account 2020 (Vote 32 Enterprise, Trade and Employment);
• C&AG Report 2020 – Chapter 6: Covid-19 restart grant schemes.

During the afternoon session, the Committee will consider the Minutes of its meeting of 11 November 2021, Accounts and Statements, Correspondence, its Work Programme and any other business.

Committee Leas-Chathaoirleach Deputy Catherine Murphy said: “The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s gross expenditure doubled last year to €1.8billion, including €1.3billion spent on COVID-19 supports which were provided through the jobs and enterprise development programme. Among the areas of interest to the Committee are the funding the Department provides to support Micro Finance Ireland, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, credit guarantee schemes and the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

“The second matter on the agenda is the C&AG’s chapter on the restart grant schemes, which were established to provide financial assistance to small and medium businesses affected by COVID-19 related interruptions to trading in 2020. The Committee will be interested in examining the Department’s oversight arrangements for the schemes.

“By mid-June 2021, restart grants totalling around €633m had been paid by the local authorities, which distributed the funding. Eligibility was determined based on a declaration by the business that it satisfied the scheme criteria and was not subject to verification by the local authority or the Department prior to the grant being paid.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing this expenditure and related matters with Dr Quinn and her colleagues.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.