Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is grand. You are happy with that, Deputy. We will proceed on that basis. I thank the Deputy. We will get further information on it. Although that particular horse has bolted, we have no wish for another to bolt.

The next item is correspondence No. 841, dated 24 October, from Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills. As requested by the committee, the correspondence follows up on the transfer of properties as part of the redress scheme and costs of the child abuse inquiry. The Department says that it will continue to provide regular updates to the committee in respect of the progress.

I have a proposal in this regard. Some of this is 15 years old. If someone said the Department of Education and Skills was to start something today in respect of the transfer of properties and that in 15 years' time the Committee of Public Accounts was still being told that the matter had not been finalised, it would be outrageous.

Representatives of the Department of Education and Skills will be before the committee next Thursday in any event to discuss educational and training boards. I propose that we allocate the first 15 minutes of the meeting specifically to this matter. It is 15 years on and it has not been dealt with. We might allow two speakers five minutes each. We will not all get in but we cannot let this pass. We will note and publish the correspondence.