Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to discuss the 2015 appropriation accounts of the Department of Education and Skills. We have provided the committee with briefing material and, accordingly, in the interests of making best use of the committee's time, I will keep my opening statement short.

The Department's net voted expenditure in 2015 was nearly €8.2 billion. Of this, €621 million was capital expenditure. In addition, the Department's expenditure ceiling included the non-voted national training fund, which had an allocation of €362 million in 2015, providing for upskilling and re-skilling for both of those seeking employment and those in employment. The Department received €549 million in appropriations-in-aid.

Approximately 80% of the Department's overall budget is accounted for by pay and superannuation. In 2015, this provided for over 98,000 public service employees and over 44,000 public service pensioners.

The Department's expenditure is subdivided into four expenditure programmes. Programme A provides for first, second and early years' education. The overall expenditure in 2015 was €6.2 billion, which among other things, covered pay and superannuation for teachers and special needs assistants, grants to schools, including capitation, costs associated with teacher education and provision of school transport.

Programme B covers skills development, including upskilling and re-skilling that meets the needs of individuals and the labour market. The overall expenditure from the Vote in 2016 was €329 million, which among other things, covered grants to Seirbhísí Oideachais Leanunaigh agus Scileanna, SOLAS, in respect of further education and training. It also provides funding for support of the European Social Fund and European Globalisation Adjustment Fund's activities in Ireland.

Programme C supports learning, research and innovation opportunities in the higher education sector. Expenditure in 2015 was over €1.5 billion, covering grants to higher education institutions, superannuation costs, research, student support and related costs, international activities and grants to the Higher Education Authority.

Programme D covers capital services and supports the planning and provision of appropriate infrastructure for learning environments through the Department's building programme. The total expenditure in 2015 was €655 million which covered the costs of building, equipping and furnishing of schools, higher education capital costs and costs associated with public private partnerships.

The Department was voted a Supplementary Estimate of €175 million towards the end of 2015. This made provision for an increased allocation of special needs assistants, increased superannuation payments in the schools and institute of technology sectors, an additional allocation for higher education student support and provision for summer works scheme. The Supplementary Estimate also took account of a projected shortfall in the level of receipts to be brought to account in 2015.

I am conscious the issue of timeliness in the submission of accounts and financial statements is a matter of concern to the committee. It was flagged as an issue in the Comptroller and Auditor General's recent special report. The report acknowledges the background to these delays, including the pressures which resulted from the public service moratorium, the significant organisational change which has taken place in the ETB sector and the particular complexities which pertain in the university sector given the significant amounts of non-Exchequer funding.

This is an issue which the Department is taking seriously. We have been engaging with sectors on measures to improve reporting capabilities, including filling critical vacancies. In our engagement with our bodies, we have strengthened our emphasis on the importance of timely submission of accounts. We have also stressed the importance of communication and engagement with the Comptroller and Auditor General's office to ensure a collaborative approach to addressing issues which arise.

More widely, we see our response to this issue as part of an overall effort which the Department is undertaking to further develop and implement robust and consistent governance arrangements across the education sector. Our aim is to ensure utilisation of public funds is achieved within a framework of high standards of performance, accountability, compliance and oversight. A management board committee on sectoral governance and accountability, which I chair, was established in 2015. This committee provides overall guidance on the enhancement of governance arrangements across the education sector. This has included enhancement of audit oversight in certain sectors, as well as ensuring enhanced compliance-reporting structures are in place specifically to address the timely clearance and certification of financial statements.

The committee also reviews work on governance enhancement across the education sector, for example, rolling compliance reviews being undertaken by the Higher Education Authority, roll out of the financial services support unit at primary school level and work to review the code of practice for the governance of education and training boards. The management board committee is complemented by a principal officer sectoral governance network, which includes principal officers with responsibility for public service bodies. An internal audit education sector forum has also been established.

A specific sectoral governance unit has been set up in the Department. This unit provides support to the management board committee and principal officer network, as well as undertaking work to support the enhancement and standardisation of governance and accountability oversight across the Department. This has included rolling out of the first phase of a programme of governance compliance reviews involving the Department's non-commercial bodies.

This is an area we will continue to focus on, having regard to good practice and developments in governance generally, including issues which have been identified by the Committee of Public Accounts as part of its work programme.