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

I will deal with the first item, Deputy Shane Ross's request. The Central Bank is not accountable directly to us, unless the Comptroller and Auditor General carries out a report. Therefore, we would not normally ask its representatives to appear before the committee; we are precluded from bringing them before it. However, I agree with the Deputy that a considerable amount of taxpayers' money is now being directed towards saving institutions. In some way the Committee of Public Accounts needs to have some overview or input into the conversation on these matters because they may come before us for consideration in years to come. Why not do it now when the issues are live in order to express concern? The electorate expresses concern, as do members. While I understand the accountability role, we need to have some input. Perhaps we should ask the clerk to follow up on Deputy Shane Ross's proposal. We should ask him to find some way of bringing in the regulator, representatives of the bank or whoever it might be to discuss these issues. We might also call in departmental officials who would be directly responsible in terms of their accountability for taxpayers' money; that is from where the money comes.