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

No. 3A.1 relates to correspondence from the HSE, dated 10 December 2015. It concerns the report on the foster home and we will deal with that with the issue we have just discussed later. No. 3A.2 relates to correspondence, dated 8 December 2015, received from Professor Andrew Deeks, President of UCD, and concerns the UCD financial statements 2013. This is to be noted and published. No. 3A.3 is correspondence, dated 9 December 2015, received from Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and is a follow-up on information requested at our meeting of 19 November 2015. This is to be noted and published.

No. 3A.4 relates to correspondence, dated 15 December 2015, from the HSE in regard to the North Meath Communities Development Association. This is one of the long running issues we have dealt with. I asked the clerk to review the entire process and his note on the suggestions we are making to deal with the matter was circulated prior to this meeting. It is appropriate to put these recommendations to the committee at this stage. The Committee of Public Accounts recommends as follows: 1. That the current 30-year lease, which is due for review, which can be backdated to 1 May 2014, now presents an opportunity for both parties to correct the lease so that it is no longer capable of multiple interpretations. 2. That the HSE should acknowledge it has now been repaid in full the development grant it paid and that a discount of four ninths will not apply in the future. 3. That both parties agree an appropriate rent, which represents the full market value, that is to be paid with effect from 1 May 2014. If necessary, this rent is to be determined by way of arbitration. 4. That both parties seek to resolve this dispute so that the organisation is given adequate compensation for the fact that it did not receive an appropriate rent for the period from 1 May 2004 up to the proposed review date of 30 April 2014.

This is a community project which gives great benefit to the local area and region. Those involved in the project are volunteers. They have gone through a process and hearing and feel they have been hard done by. Judging from the correspondence and engagement this committee has had on that, this seems to be the case. The recommendations being put this morning are reasonable and I believe they will help resolve the matter and ensure adequate financial payments will be made to the organisation to ensure its continuity and to rectify the rent situation from 2004. I propose that these recommendations be accepted and that we notify the parties involved of the outcome of our discussions on this matter. Is that agreed?