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

Are the minutes of the meeting of 21 February 2013 agreed? Agreed. Deputy Harris raised the issue of the high levels of cash deposits held by public bodies in the Department of Finance. The Department has been asked for a note. We will await receipt of the note before taking the next step.

I refer to correspondence since our meeting on Thursday, 21 February 2013.

No. 3B.1 is correspondence, dated 15 February 2013, from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, forwarding a note regarding financial oversight of school funds, to be noted and a copy forwarded to Mr. Jim O'Brien, Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, the original complainant.

No. 3B.2 is correspondence, dated 15 February 2013, from Ms Nora Beattie, County Mayo, regarding the appointment of school secretaries, to be noted and a copy forwarded to the Department of Education and Skills for a note on the matter. No. 3B.3 is correspondence, dated 17 February 2013, from Mr. Don Curry, re forwarding a letter from Ms Catherine Day, Director General, EU Commission, to be noted. This correspondence is connected to an issue that was raised by the last Committee of Public Accounts with the Comptroller and Auditor General and with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation relating to the case of Frank Mulcahy, formerly of ISME. The Department has told us that an investigation by the Ombudsman and the Office of the Information Commissioner had both ruled that the Department had acted appropriately in regard to issues raised by Mr. Mulcahy. We will pass on this latest correspondence and I will ask the clerk to liaise directly with the Department on the issue as I cannot see a role for the Committee of Public Accounts in the resolution of the matter.