Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for providing their opening statements in advance. I thank Mr. Seamus McCarthy and his team for the clear audit and Mr. John McCarthy for the work his Department has done in ensuring its books will pass muster.

I note with thanks the work of the Department and the local authorities during the recent eventful weather event. Their efforts were most appreciated.

In the light of the clear audit, I have only a few questions to ask. Will the Comptroller and Auditor General elaborate on his comment that the usefulness of the programme analysis was compromised by the existence of and separate accounting for the local government fund. The issue arises from the multiple sources of funding and accounts maintained. I have no idea to what the Comptroller and Auditor General was referring when he noted a consolidation account in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Will he provide some more detail on that point?