Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach to hold separate engagements on changes to public spending code and APP fraud

The meeting at 1.30pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be split into sessions:

• 1.30pm-3pm – Changes to the public spending code with officials from Dept. of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform;
• 3pm-4.30pm – APP fraud with representatives of the Central Bank of Ireland.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy John McGuinness said: “In our first session, the Committee will meet with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to discuss the recent changes to the Public Spending Code which were announced at the end of March and which are intended to enhance the delivery of projects under the National Development Plan. In addition to the proposed changes, the Committee will also examine research and analysis undertaken that underpin the reform, practical detail on how these changes will speed up capital project delivery without reducing the quality of oversight and details on the new infrastructure guidelines.

“In our second session, we will resume discussions on authorised push payment fraud, in which criminals use sophisticated techniques to trick victims into making real-time payments to transfer funds directly into the fraudster’s bank account. The Committee has previously heard from the Irish Banking Payments Federation, An Garda Síochána, and the Departments of Justice and Finance. We now look forward to hearing from the Central Bank, which is responsible for regulating the banking sector and protecting the interests of consumers.”

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

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

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