The matter raised by Deputy Shatter is essentially a matter of accounting and, as such, would be dealt with by my officials. This matter was not raised specifically with me, but taken by finance unit officials of my Department as a normal operational matter. The matter is covered in a comprehensive way by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his annual report on my Department's 1997 appropriation accounts.
In summary, my officials were faced with a very difficult situation in relation to a particular reimbursement of £20 million from the UK Department of Health. The UK authorities initiated a review of the recoupment methodology in 1996. There were unresolved issues associated with this review which made the calculation of the net liability of the UK authorities somewhat uncertain during 1997. The situation was further compounded arising from the change in the calendar for the public finances in 1997. These changes resulted in a more streamlined process and the moving forward of the 1997 Supplementary Estimate, the agreeing of the abridged Estimates for 1998 and the bringing forward of the date for the 1998 budget.
In order to meet the new deadlines and having regard to the uncertainty surrounding the UK liability, my officials were unable to agree final figures with their UK colleagues and thereby applied a prudent approach to appropriations-in-aid receipts, projecting a sum lower than the eventual total reimbursement.
There were few options open to my officials for dealing with this matter. The figure in respect of the 1997 Supplementary Estimate and the 1998 abridged book were agreed by Government well in advance of knowing the total UK liability. Following full and careful consideration, and with the objective of dealing with the matter in a fair and transparent manner, it was decided to take this exceptional item into the 1998 accounting period. In choosing this, my officials were conscious that the funding is, in the first instance, given by the UK authorities to defray the cost of providing services to their citizens. Therefore, it was imperative for my Department that the £20 million in question was seen to be benefiting the health services. I am satisfied that the manner in which this was eventually treated fully achieved this objective.
In the case of this Department's dealings with the Central Bank, my officials spoke to officials there in order to fully understand the process of receiving and clearing such payments.
