John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join members in complimenting Mr. Ted McEnery, all of the staff, and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The substantial amount of work that went into the report and the tight timeframe were mentioned during the launch. I would also say to members that the examination of witnesses during the process was key to the information in the report. The examination was very positive and made it very worthwhile for those who came in with their respective organisations. I thank the members for the lengths they went to get to the exact information required to inform that public conversation. That was the important part. The launch went well and reflected well on the members of the Committee of Public Accounts.

Before he arrived, we welcomed Deputy Keaveney to the meeting. I hope his stay on the committee will be an enjoyable time. We look forward to his contributions.

Can we agree the agenda for Thursday, 13 December at 10 a.m.? Next week's meeting will deal with the broader macro issues relating to public private partnerships, whether they offer value for money and the extent of the State's commitment to PPPs. Deputy McDonald raised the specific issue and we want to look at the analysis that is ongoing at central government level on the future use of PPPs. We will meet the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the National Development Finance Agency to deal with these matters. The agenda for the meeting will be chapter 6 of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on financial commitments under public private partnerships in 2011. The National Development Finance Agency financial statements for 2011 will be included in that meeting.