Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Taoiseach said he would appear before the Oireachtas Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach and deal with this matter as part of the Estimates for his Department. That is a red herring. Perhaps the Taoiseach needs to learn exactly what the Committee of Public Accounts does, as opposed to sectoral committees. He will only discuss the Estimates with the select committee and we will be unable to ask whether we are getting value for money or get details about the controls and practices that are in place, or find out who is accountable and discover who is responsible for making decisions on the expenditure. None of those matters will be covered when he goes before the select committee.

As only the policy decision and the setting aside of the money will be covered, we will not be able to go into the detail. That is the reason he needs to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts, not just a sectoral committee at Estimates time.