David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Could I make a broader point on that? I do not think we should, nor would I advocate that we should, but Accounting Officers should and if they cannot do it then it is indicative of a bigger problem. I do not know what Department this would come under. Is it possible for us to get some guidance on what processes are in place to allow Accounting Officers to sanction people? Let us take the Templemore issue as an example. If nobody is held to account then what is stopping the same thing happening again? Absolutely nothing other than the Accounting Officer would come into the Committee of Public Accounts, spend a couple of weeks getting his or her knuckles rapped and he or she would go out the door and nobody is held to account. That seems to be the case with almost every scandal or issue that comes before this committee. I am not doing their job for them, nor would I want to, but there never seems to be anybody held to account on the back of any of this stuff. Either that is because they do not want to do it or because they cannot do it. If they cannot do it, that is a matter for the legislators. If they can do it and it is not being done then that is our job to hold them to account.