23 Ean 2018, 12:54
The Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts today, Tuesday 23 January 2018 launched its first periodic report which focuses on meetings held between 28 September and 26 October 2017.
The Committee held seven public sessions during this period, following up on matters arising from previous meetings and examining issues emerging from the 2016 financial statements audited by the C&AG. It met with six organisations; An Garda Síochána, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), TUSLA (Child and Family Agency) and the HSE (Health Service Executive).
Among the report’s recommendations are:
An Garda Síochána
The Committee recommends that the ultimate decision to re-open Garda stations should take into account the best use of Garda resources, use of state funds and policing priorities.
The Committee recommends that the implications of the review to re-open Garda stations be considered in the context of the 2018 estimates process.
Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)
The Committee recommends that HIQA carry out an examination of the cost of agency staff to fill vacant posts and the challenges of relying on agency staff, with a view to coming up with the most cost-effective method of delivering its services.
The Committee recommends that a more comprehensive breakdown of expenditure on consultancy services be added to HIQA’s future accounts.
Industrial Development Authority (IDA)
The Committee recommends that the IDA review and improve the methodology used to verify the number of jobs created by its client companies. The Committee recommends that the IDA liaise with other data collection agencies to develop a more robust methodology for verifying the number of jobs, and reduces the current dependency on self-assessment.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
The Committee recommends that TII publish post-project reviews of its public private partnership (PPP) projects to ensure that information regarding these contracts is in the public domain and available for scrutiny, as per the recommendation of the C&AG.
The Committee recommends that TII implement stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure the collection of unpaid M50 tolls and fines.
TUSLA (Child and Family Agency)
The Committee recommends that Tusla ensure all mechanisms are in place to meet the target of securing service level agreements for 100% of grant funded agencies by Q1 2018.
The Committee recommends that Tusla addresses current weaknesses in its systems to ensure that all of its procurement complies with Department of Public Expenditure of Reform (DPER) policies.
Health Service Executive (HSE)
The Committee recommends that the HSE implement without delay the process of appointing a lead Community Health Organisation (CHO) for large voluntary organisations which have different service level agreements with multiple CHOs.
The full report can be accessed here.