Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to discuss it from the transition manager's side. In the context of the NTMA, €4.7 billion of taxpayers' money has been disposed of to put into banks. Some €2.65 million was involved. In a transaction of that size, obviously the higher the amount the higher the materiality falls. The ordinary taxpayer will ask how the National Treasury Management Agency did not pick this up with its own controls given that €2.65 million is about one third of the €8 million required for home helps and is a significant amount of money. Please explain the process whereby this was signed off within the NTMA and the procedures in terms of disposals taking place and how the NTMA did not pick this up. Effectively, €2.65 million is the amount of taxpayers' money that was given back, or whatever one wants to describe it. How is it that this was not picked up by NTMA's internal procedures? What procedures are now in place? I note the NTMA has very specialised staff. Some 259 people are employed in the NTMA, some 22% of whom, that is, 57, are earning €100,000 or more. How did the NTMA agree to a materiality level in terms of the implementation shortfall when, within that range, it facilitated such an amount of this magnitude? Why did the internal procedures not pick up on this and what has the NTMA done to assure taxpayers this will never happen again?

The NTMA has suggested, in essence that, from now, transition managers transactions would be examined by the global custodian. As the NTMA cannot impose that, I presume this is something the regulators will have to agree to. The NTMA is in charge of managing public funds. Please explain why it was not picked up on and the procedure by which the payment was allowed. Who in the NTMA signed off on the payment? How can the NTMA ensure this never happens again because this is a very large amount of money from the taxpayers' viewpoint?