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

In his opening statement, the Minister extended an invitation to write in or use this exchange to make suggestions. I tend to use these meetings as best I can to make suggestions. With regard to public service reform, page 31 of the mid-year expenditure report states there is evidence that Ireland has a strong record of efficient use of public funds. This may be the case generally. However, I want to address the fact we raise our taxes in a diligent manner but on the other side, there is the difficulty of monitoring the expenditure that takes place, which is the remit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In the context of this statement on the efficient use of public funds, how does the Minister see the State's oversight of the spend on the transport system? We give a big subvention through the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport but it is not dealt with by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The school transport system is chaotic throughout the country and we have no insight into how this money is being spent. We have the section 38 and section 39 bodies in the HSE. We have the general difficulty that the HSE does not have a single accountancy system. We also have the various State boards which are funded by the State with little transparency. We have had a recent controversy about the appointment of a CEO over the limit in terms of what the Minister recommends. How will the Minister deal with this?