Ms Laverne McGuinness:

There are a number of different facets to that. It is not only about the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Comptroller and Auditor General also audits our accounts every year. That is a thorough audit. We have an audit committee, which is chaired by an independent, fully qualified accountant. The committee also has a number of independent members and, therefore, they are not all internal appointees. The full work programme goes through the Comptroller and Auditor General. His officials attend some of the audit committee meetings as well. A thorough analysis is carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General's office. That is the Government's independent eye and that is why we are called to the Committee of Public Accounts with the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Internal audit is an organisation's own internal watchdog to provide assurance that the required level of internal control is in place and any fraud or error is minimised, and if there is fraud or error, to make sure it is brought to light. That is why we have the internal audit reports. All that work is made available to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The office audits payroll, PCRS and the money we pay to these agencies. It has access to the full gambit.

It is not usual for independent section 38 agencies to be on our accounting system. They have independent accounting systems, whether that is St. Vincent's Hospital, St. James's Hospital or the Brothers of Charity. They have their own accountants, internal controls and internal audit. Their accounts are audited separately but we are provided with a copy of their audited financial statements and they form the basis on which both the compliance statement and the service level arrangement is provided.