Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will ask what has been recouped in the letter about the private sites. Some outfits just dumped it and went bust. We know that too. We will ask them what has been recouped. He should know the position. We will send the letter straight away but we will come back to it in more detail later in the year.

The next item of correspondence is No. 1194B from Neil McDermott of the Higher Education Authority, providing the committee with an update on developments from last year's review of procurement. We can note and publish it. A corporate procurement plan has been now put in place. I will ask people to study and note it.

Correspondence No. 1199B is from Graham Doyle, Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, on the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report No. 97 on the administration of and collection of motor tax. We had a discussion on that at the last meeting. There is detailed information which the Secretary General was asked to supply. We can note and publish it.

The next item is No. 1203B from Robert Watt, the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform providing a note on hospitality and entertainment to which the committee drew attention with regard to the retirement event for the president of Cork Institute of Technology. While the Department provides a governance code, it does not have specific guidelines on hospitality events. Mr. Watt said he will consider this and on page 2 of his letter, he states, "The committee may wish to note that my Department intends to initiate a review of Department of Finance [25/2000] Official Entertainment Circular". He intends to do that this year. He enclosed a copy of the circular that was issued 18 years ago, in 2000. We need a new circular on hospitality and entertainment where it involves taxpayers' money directly. We will acknowledge it and write back and ask if there is a timetable for the new circular and ask that we be provided with a copy as soon as it is ready.