Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to appear before the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. The committee has a copy of my statement, which covers Votes 1 - 6, inclusive: President’s Establishment; Department of the Taoiseach; Office of the Attorney General; Central Statistics Office; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; and Office of the Chief State Solicitor. The net Estimates for 2017 are as follows: the President’s Establishment - €3.9 million; Department of the Taoiseach - €36.75 million; Office of the Attorney General - €14.9 million; Central Statistics Office - €48.58 million; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions - €40.68 million; Office of the Chief State Solicitor - €32.34 million.

The committee had a detailed briefing last week on Votes 1 - 6. I will now outline briefly the proposed 2017 Estimate for the Department, I will highlight some work that was carried out in 2016 and I will detail some of the Estimates for the 2017 President's Establishment, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Office of the Chief State Solicitor. While I have certain responsibilities to the Oireachtas in respect of administrative matters in these Offices, they operate independently of my Department. Minister of State, Deputy Regina Doherty, Government Chief Whip, will outline the 2017 Revised Estimate allocation for the Central Statistics Office and will take any questions relevant to that Vote.

I am joined today by the following officials from my Department: Ms Elizabeth Canavan, Ms Geraldine Butler and Ms Amanda Reilly of the finance unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. At the outset it is important to acknowledge a member of my staff. The Chairman himself probably knew Lorcan Fullam. He was the former Irish ambassador to Tanzania and returned to Ireland to work at the Department of the Taoiseach. At 49 years of age he was a married man with three young children. He is being buried as we speak. He is a great loss to this Department and many of the officials are very upset. I spoke with Lorcan just five or six weeks ago. He had cancer and was unable to come out from it. I apologise for the absence of the Secretary General of the Department at today's meeting who, along with a number of others, were all anxious to attend his funeral which is happening as we sit here.