Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No. 682C, correspondence, dated 3 July 2018, from Mr. Justice John Cooke, Commission of Investigation into the National Asset Management Agency, requesting the committee to identify if it is in possession of additional evidential material acquired by the Committee of Public Accounts other than from the National Asset Management Agency or the Comptroller and Auditor General and not listed in our report. I propose to reply to Mr. Justice Cooke stating that we will ask the secretariat to review all material held by the committee and make any information not listed in the report available to the Commission. I read that letter in detail. It is from the Commission of Investigation into the National Asset Management Agency. Mr. Justice Cooke is the judge who is conducting the investigation. He has written a nice letter to the committee thanking it for its work and its willingness to co-operate and assist him in every way possible. He has indicated that he is obtaining all necessary information he can from NAMA and the Comptroller and Auditor General and that he is coming to the committee requesting to see if we have information that we received from bodies, other than those two sources, to identify and produce a list and forward it to the commission, which can then decide if it wants the information. The commission has been very good in that it is not asking us to provide information that it can obtain from other sources. Mr. Justice Cooke is going about the task in a very efficient manner. We will co-operate fully.

No. 683C is correspondence, dated 6 July 201,7 from Dr. Michael Crowley alleging malfeasance and corruption in the health service. I propose requesting an information note from the Department of Health. Is that agreed? Agreed.

No. 684C is undated correspondence from an individual in respect to the work undertaken by the Committee of Public Account regarding the Garda College in Templemore. We will note the correspondence.

No. 685C is correspondence, dated 5 July, from an individual alleging serious irregularities in respect of the thoroughbred foal levy. It is unclear what is being alleged and I propose to request that he secretariat liaise with the individual to obtain further information. The individual refers to other correspondence sent to me. Let me explain the matter in a nutshell. The correspondence was sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine but the latter indicated that the matter does not fall within its remit. As Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, I find that extraordinary.