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

To be clear about the committee and where we are going, next week the Department of Finance officials will attend the committee. We have indicated to the Department that we will ask questions about its involvement and whatever concerns it might have had, not only with Siteserv but the other companies and transactions that have been brought into the public domain by way of general comment. Any paperwork relevant to those transactions from the Department’s side is what we are entitled to discuss. We shall send a clear message to the Department of Finance that this is within our remit, this is what we want to discuss and there is more than just Siteserv. In a general way we want to deal with that.

It is only fair then, on the other side of this, that we would make clear that it is misleading of either the Taoiseach or the Minister for Finance or any other Minister to say the Committee of Public Accounts will deal with this. The committee’s remit will not allow it to go into the IBRC or call witnesses. If the Committee of Public Accounts is to conduct any analysis of this, then an order of the Dáil needs to be made. The KPMG report, if it is to be referred to us, will have to be given to us with the appropriate powers to analyse it and to call witnesses.

Whatever statement has been made on this, from a public interest, it should be specified and clarified that whatever committee deals with this, it will require a certain set of powers to be able to do it properly. It is wrong to leave it hanging in the air with the public expectation that the Committee of Public Accounts will be able to discuss it when it is clearly not the case.

In response to what is happening, we should reflect that fact to the Taoiseach and the Ministers concerned to ensure we are all clear about it.

I think that is the right thing to do. Is that okay? Yes.

We are dealing with the work programme. We will have the Department of Social Protection after that and then the Department of Education and Skills. We have that special report from Cork VEC. Will that come up on that day?