Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The letter that can be seen on the screen was received this morning so we have not had an opportunity to circulate same. It just arrived this morning from the Secretary General for the Department of Education and Skills. He referred to the 2015 audit, to the fact that a number of issues were brought to the attention of the Department of Education and Skills, and that the Department sought a response from the ETB on the issues. He continued:

Having considered the issues raised by the C&AG and the subsequent correspondence between the Department and the ETB, in exercise of his power under Section 40 of the ETB Act 2013 the Minister for Education and Skills has appointed an investigator to carry out an investigation into the performance by the board of its functions particularly in relation to public procurement, usage and disposal of assets and propriety matters and to submit a final report to the Minister as soon as practical ....

Mr Richard Thorn, President Emeritus of Sligo Institute of Technology has been appointed to carry out the investigation. It is envisaged that the investigation will be completed in Quarter 1 2018.

That is the end of the March. He continued: "The terms of reference for the investigation are enclosed for the information of the Public Accounts Committee. The Department will keep us updated."

The Comptroller and Auditor General expects that he will be unable to complete his audit until after that report is completed.