Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Fraser. I want to touch on expanding on the net programme costs of the Presidency and the true reflection of the course born. The Comptroller and Auditor General's short opening statement refers to the appropriation accounts and gross expenditure of €3.6 million but, as has been pointed out by Mr. McCarthy himself, when one goes to page 7 of the appropriation accounts, the net programme cost is €8.1 million. We therefore have this direct expenditure of €3.5 million and then these net allied services at a cost of over €4.5 million. This reminds me a little of when we were trying to get to the bottom of the accounts for local government. Obviously, the net allied costs are quite significant, even more so when one discounts what is paid in terms of the centenary and the bounty. Then the President's Establishment is only €2.4 million, yet the net allied costs are €4.6 million. In order that I understand this, how does the Office of the President make those demands, whether it be the office of the Minister for Justice and Equality, the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW or the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for defence? There are half a dozen different departments there. As has been pointed out, the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW went from €2 million in the 2015 accounts to nearly €2.5 million in 2016.

In the overall context of these accounts, that was a significant amount. The OPW's figure is now as much as that relating to the President's Establishment, which comes in at €2.4 million. Expenditure under Vote 36 - Defence went from €408,000 to €431,000. How does this work? Are demands made by the Office of the President for X, Y and Z needs to be met and various Departments then make the requisite appropriations to meet them?