Committee of Public Accounts says C&AG’s 2021 Annual Report highlights areas for further examination

Deputy Stanley said: “The C&AG report draws attention to the operator of the National Lottery and its use of the €124 million in expired unclaimed prizes. The report found that €122m or 98 per cent of the unclaimed prize money was utilised by the private operator for advertising purposes and only a fraction of the amount been used for the payment of additional prizes for Lotto players which is stipulated in the license agreement.

“The Committee will be interested in engaging with the Regulator of the National Lottery and its parent department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as soon as the work programme permits so it can gain an understanding of the issues highlighted by the C&AG”

Deputy Stanley continued: “The C&AG highlighted areas of concern over the use of the Housing Agency’s Revolving Acquisition Fund and its failure to meet its targets. Since the establishment of the Fund in 2017 only over half of the 1,600 residential units have been acquired and at the end of 2021, its cash balance stood at €38 million which demonstrates an underutilisation.

“The C&AG’s recommendations on the controls and inspections in the area of classification of workers for PRSI purposes is welcomed by the Committee as it has had a lot of engagement in this area and it is important that the Department of Social Protection, The Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Workplace Relations Commission have the necessary systems put in place by the State so that worker’s rights will continue to be protected.

“The C&AG also highlighted the implementation of the National Broadband Plan and the fines that the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications has imposed on National Broadband Ireland to date. This is the first time that the Committee has seen penalties and welcomes the opportunity to engage with the entities on the areas raised by the report.

“As Cathaoirleach of the Committee of Public Accounts I am also concerned about the lack of parliamentary scrutiny over the re-allocation of over €1 billion in Oireachtas voted funds and the Committee will be engaging with the various Departments to understand the reasoning for the redistribution of the large sums of money to ensure that monies were utilised as intended.”

In relation to the accounts of government departments and offices, the C&AG identified six votes – Office of Public Works, An Garda Síochána, Prisons, Justice Social Protection, and Children – with non-compliant procurement in excess of €5 million, and the Committee will continue to hold bodies to account in this regard.

Deputy Stanley concluded: “All the matters referred to by the C&AG in his annual report, especially the 23 chapters highlighted, will be examined in detail by the PAC. The scheduling of these meetings on the annual report will be discussed at our meeting on Thursday, 6 October.”

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.