Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2020 Appropriation Accounts for Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

• Vote 11 (Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform);
• Vote 12 (Superannuation and Retired Allowances);
• Vote 39 (Office of Government Procurement); and
• Vote 43 (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer).

The meeting at 9.30am in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, and will also discuss Chapter 4: Vote accounting and budget management from the C&AG’s 2020 Report on the Accounts of the Public Services. Other areas of interest to the Committee include:

1. (1)   Format and content of Appropriation Accounts;
2. (2)   Public Private Partnerships; and
3. (3)   Benefacts database.

The afternoon session, beginning at 1.30pm, will consider correspondence and other business of the Committee.

PAC Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) controls public service expenditure and sets a framework for accounting for this expenditure across all Government departments and offices. DPER is also responsible for overseeing the reform of the Public Sector.

“Among the areas the Committee wishes to examine are the sanction of remuneration packages for senior public servants, recruitment diversity, public pensions, construction material price inflation for public works projects, public procurement, and public private partnerships.

“Members would also like to discuss the termination of funding for Benefacts,  a non-governmental organisation that provided a range of data services, including free online access to extensive information about the non-profit sector in Ireland, which is reported to have an annual turnover of about €7 billion, more than half of which is public funds.

“The Committee will also be interested in DPER’s progress on changes to modernise the appropriation accounts, which were requested last year by this Committee, and includes the presentation of Accounting Officers’ remuneration in the accounts.

”The Committee looks forward to a wide-ranging engagement with Mr. Moloney and his colleague on these and related matters.”

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. Further information on the role and remit of the Committee can be found here.

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