Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 March 2018

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

9:00 am

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will publish that correspondence. We do not need to take any action now but I assure members that the issue of wards of court will come before us again. We might consider asking for the relevant policy matter to be looked at in the context of the management of funds under the supervision of trusteeship or whatever of the judges without interfering with them. The funds might be better managed by somebody with far more experience of managing these funds than the people who currently manage them. That is not a conclusion at this point. It is only an observation. We will come back to it.

No. 1123C is correspondence, dated 12 February, from a body called Former Local Authority Members Éire relating to a previous item of correspondence discussed on 9 November. The body has asked the committee to investigate the transfer of corporate governance responsibilities arising from the Local Government Act 2014. The correspondent also raises questions relating to the consideration of the organisation's previous item of correspondence, No. 861C. I will ask the clerk to provide the responses as requested. This is not a matter for the Committee of Public Accounts as the changes were the result of a policy decision and the implementation of the Local Government Act 2014. I do not think this is a matter with which the committee should engage further. Is that agreed? Agreed.

No. 1124 is correspondence, dated 26 February 2018, from Mr. Graham Doyle, Secretary General at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport providing a detailed note relating to the situation with CIÉ pensions as requested by the committee. Is it agreed to note the item and agree to publish it? Agreed. Obviously, members will want to utilise that correspondence as they see fit.

No. 1126 is correspondence, dated 8 February 2018, from a journalist providing a copy of a note from the Department of Justice and Equality and an article in Kerry’s Eyeon the court poor box. Can we note and agree also to forward him a copy of the earlier item we received on the court poor box and a copy of the transcript of our discussion on the court poor box? Agreed.

No. 1127 is correspondence, dated 21 February 2018, Deputy Cullinane regarding CIÉ pensions. We have covered that issue. The response is there. Various Members of the Oireachtas have inquired about this. We received the response. It does not deal with the issue satisfactorily but at least it is a response. I know people will take it up at other fora. We will note and publish that. Does the Deputy believe we should publish it?

Item No. 1135C is correspondence from the clerk of the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment relating to our proposed engagement with RTÉ requesting that the committee be mindful of its remit and avoid unnecessary duplication of the work of the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment in this area. The secretariat has written to RTÉ inviting it to attend a meeting in view of the fact that the majority of RTÉ's funding comes from public sources. The committee is interested in exploring how that funding is used and accounted for.

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