Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 29, line 27, after “Reform” to insert “and the Comptroller and Auditor General”.

In performing its functions under this Part, the agency shall comply with all guidelines and instructions that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may from time to time, with the consent of the Minister, issue to the agency. That is the body of expertise, as the Minister has said, that we are building up. We wished we had more of it in the past. There is also a body of expertise on projects in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the Comptroller and Auditor General is an officer under the Constitution. I often feel it is a pity that his reports are so far after the event, so that his expertise does not help us in advance of project selection. Sometimes I feel the reports gather dust. If there are lessons in there, which are added to by the Committee of Public Accounts, let us bring all of that wisdom to assist the Minister in making difficult choices. We are facing scarce resources for a long time ahead.
The purpose of this amendment is to avail of the expertise in addition to the departmental knowledge that the Minister has mentioned. There is the body of knowledge represented by the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is what the Committee of Public Accounts gets to grips with. As Members of the Oireachtas and representatives of the wider society, we all need to be involved in this. We need to help the Minister in the really important task of choosing good projects in the years ahead.