19 Samh 2014, 17:14
The Committee of Public Accounts will meet tomorrow to consider the 2013 expenditure of the Courts Service, which amounted to €105 million.
19 November 2014
Key officials from the Courts Service in attendance tomorrow include:
- Brendan Ryan – CEO
- Paul Burns – Head of Infrastructure Services
- Nuala McLoughlin – Head of Supreme & High Court Operations
- Sean Quigley – Head of Resource Management
- John Coyle – Head of Circuit & District Court Operations
Joyce Duffy, Principal Officer at the Courts Policy Division of the Department of Justice and Equality will also be in attendance, as well as Ronan Gallagher Department of Public Expenditure & Reform.
Committee Chairman John McGuinness TD says: “The PAC will have an opportunity to discuss in detail the 2013 expenditure of the Courts Service to finance their work in managing Irish courts and support the judiciary. There are a number of issues we will wish to focus on, including the fact that just a third of drivers convicted of motoring offences between January 2013 and June 2014 that came to court had points recorded on their licence. The Committee will want to assess the reasons for the low number of points being recorded on driving licences and what work is being done with other agencies such as the Gardaí in improving these figures.
“The Committee will also wish to raise issues around the Court investment/divestment programmes. For instance, we will wish to explore why the decision to close four courts in Dublin has been reversed. We are also concerned at reports that maintaining the Criminal Courts of Justice building, including window-cleaning, security and maintenance, costs approximately €846,000 a month. The Committee will also discuss the C&AG finding that the Courts Service did not follow procurement guidelines in relation to 10 contracts to the value of €1.5 million.”
A delegation from the Public Accounts Committee from the National Assembly of Wales, led by Darren Millar AM, will be following proceedings in the public gallery at tomorrow's meeting.
The meeting takes place tomorrow 20 November in Committee Room 1, LH 2000 at 10 am, with public session anticipated to commence at 11 am. Public proceedings can be viewed online here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee Membership
Deputies:
Áine Collins, Fine Gael
Paul J. Connaughton, Fine Gael
Joe Costello, Labour Party
John Deasy, Fine Gael
Robert Dowds, Labour Party
Seán Fleming, Fianna Fáil
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin
John McGuinness, Fianna Fáil (Chairman)
Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael
Derek Nolan, Labour Party
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
Shane Ross, Independent