Committee of Public Accounts to examine C&AG’s Report on the Accounts of the Public Service 2021 with DPER

The meeting at 9.30am in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr Seamus McCarthy, and officials from DPER led by the Secretary General and Accounting Officer for the Department, Mr David Moloney.

Areas the Committee will examine include:

• Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2021 – Chapter 3 Vote accounting and Budget Management;
• Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2021 – Chapter 4 Re-allocation of voted funding;
• Format and content of the Appropriation Accounts; and
• Value for Money and Spending Reviews.

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

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is responsible for managing public expenditure and reforming the Civil and Public Service. DPER has a number of statutory responsibilities for public administration, including oversight and control of public spending, setting the general accounting policies for all appropriation accounts, issuing directions around public financial management and procedures, and corporate governance of public bodies.

“One area which the Committee wishes to examine is the re-allocation of voted funding, as covered in Chapter 4 of the C&AG’s 2021 report. DPER’s guidelines about how re-allocation should work are clear and are set out in Public Financial Procedures. In the course of the audit of the Appropriation Accounts for 2021, a number of cases were identified where there was substantial re-allocation of voted funding from one or more programme subheads to other subheads but where the procedures prescribed do not appear to have been complied with.

“The Committee would like to know why the Public Financial Procedures were not followed in relation to the re-allocation of funding between vote subheads, why DPER did not follow its own guidance and request that the savings be surrendered to the Exchequer in the first instance, and what controls DPER has put in place for 2022 spending.

“Another area of interest for the Committee is value for money and spending reviews across the public service as one of the key roles of PAC is to ensure that taxpayers receive value for money. A new round of Spending Reviews covering the period 2020- 2022 are being progress and we would like to hear DPER’s approach on expenditure reviews and evaluation of spending by departments and State bodies. The Committee looks forward to discussing these issues and related matters with Mr Moloney and his team.”

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.