Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are joined this morning by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, a permanent witness to the committee. He is accompanied today by Mahin Fitzpatrick. Apologies have been received from Deputy Shane Cassells.

We will sign off on the minutes of the recent meeting at next week's meeting.

Members have a list of correspondence in front of them. Before I get into the correspondence, I must say, as Chairman of the committee, that I am very disappointed that one item of correspondence we requested two weeks has not been received. We were here two weeks ago with the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills dealing specifically with funding for the ETB sector. The first question he was asked that morning in public session was the amount of funding to the ETB sector. We sat here at length in what was an unsatisfactory situation whereby that figure could not be reasonably, accurately and promptly provided to us. We are here a considerable period of time later and we still have not received it in writing. I am saying now in public that we will contact the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills and tell him that if we do not have it by Tuesday, he will be here in person next Thursday morning to explain why he has not supplied that information. The simple message I am sending out is that when witnesses appear before the Committee of Public Accounts and are asked questions and when they give commitments to supply information to the committee, it is not the end of the matter when they walk out of the room. That information must be supplied. We will be watchful of all such matters to ensure all these commitments are honoured in full, and I know members will agree with me on this. The Secretary General will be here next Thursday morning at the commencement of the meeting if we have not received the full information requested by next Tuesday. Is that agreed?