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

I did not become aware of the report until the clerk mentioned to me after the meeting that it had been made available. It is not the right way to do business. The Committee of Public Accounts had expressed the view that it needed clarification on this when it first emerged in 2012. The report was given to the clerk when we were discussing the medical card issue, but it was too late for us to mention it, flag it or have a briefing on it. I am disappointed with the HSE and the Department of Health that that was the case.

Given the content of the report and the concern being expressed in all quarters about the payments, I agree with Deputy Nash that we should bring in those concerned as soon as possible. We have a timetable for next week and a schedule for Thursday, but we should insist the HSE appears before us on Tuesday or Wednesday to explain the circumstances of this report. I will ask for clarification to see if the CEOs and the chairs of the boards can be brought before us, or on how we will handle this. That will be a matter of procedure. We cannot have them all in on the same day, so perhaps we should start with the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the HSE. We should insist on an early hearing and I suggest Tuesday or Wednesday to accommodate members in terms of other meetings and so on.

Perhaps we could write to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the practice of top-up payments, although that might be the wrong Department and I am open to advice on this. Can this be found in other Departments? We have an example today in regard to the National Gallery of Ireland of, I think, roughly €90,000 gross. We want to establish whether these payments are being made across the system. Perhaps we need to raise it with all Departments to see what their understanding of these payments is in the context of senior executives or employees in the agencies for which they are responsible. I suggest we bring in the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the HSE next Tuesday or Wednesday and that we write to each Department to determine whether the practice exists in other Departments and that we seek that clarification. We can conduct our business from there. Is it agreed we start with the HSE? Agreed.

No. 3A.4 is correspondence dated 14 November 2012 from Mr. Fred Barry, chief executive officer of the National Roads Authority, providing further information arising from issues raised at our meeting on 7 February 2013, to be noted and published. No. 3A.5 is correspondence dated 18 November 2013 from Mr. Neil Whoriskey, secretary of the Central Bank of Ireland, in response to an invitation to attend a meeting with the committee. That was circulated to members. I understand a date has been set for the Central Bank of Ireland to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and that the Governor has relied on the fact that the only time he appears before this committee is on foot of a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General but we do not have such a report.