Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to go through the chronology of what has happened here. As Mr. Buckley will be aware, Mr. Morgan wrote to us.

In March 2014, we had the submission by Mr. Morgan and a colleague in relation to the accountability board in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. On 19 June 2014, the OPW Chairman had a meeting with Mr. Morgan on the matter of the submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and five high-value cases were provided. In March 2015, the OPW surveyors made a submission that was distributed to the Committee of Public Accounts. On 25 May 2015, the Comptroller and Auditor General requested a response from the OPW to the Committee of Public Accounts inquiry. In July 2015, the OPW requested the surveyors who wrote this to directly investigate the previously identified five sample cases with a particular emphasis on certain areas. On 1 December, the OPW surveyors provided a detailed report on the same five cases for the OPW and that was brought forward.

The following is what I want to find out. In December last, these two individuals provided a detailed report on five cases of concern that they had been asked to investigate by the OPW and I want to know what has happened since. This report, of 1 December 2017, a copy of which I have to hand, is an extremely comprehensive report on five expenditure concerns. I refer to numerous occasions, I have the letters, on which Mr. Morgan wrote. On 8 March, he wrote to the Chairman asking where this was at. On 12 March, the Chairman's private secretary wrote back acknowledging the letter, and on 30 April, wrote back stating it was being looked at. On 8 May, Mr. Morgan wrote again to Mr. Buckley asking where this was at. On 7 June, he wrote again, stating he was concerned about the lack of information coming back. On 14 June, the OPW director of corporate services wrote back to Mr. Morgan stating basically there had been changes etc. I have read the letter, which does not really say much. On 2 July 2018, Mr. Morgan wrote to Mr. Buckley, as Chairman, again outlining his concerns and wondering why they had not been addressed, and stating he was willing to come in and speak. On 4 July, that was acknowledged. Then, on 2 August, Mr. Morgan wrote again, basically offering to assist and stating that the replies to date have been anodyne in nature and non-specific in their content. On 9 August, this was acknowledged and then, on 26 August, Mr. Morgan wrote again to the director of corporate services. There is the chronology, which I have read into the record, more or less.

I want to know, since 1 December 2017, after this report was published to OPW by two individuals one of whom has written to this committee, what Mr. Buckley has done about it. It has been the guts of a year. There are serious concerns raised in this report. To some of the members here on the committee, the letter that was written by Mr. Alan Morgan is one of the most extraordinary letters we have ever received. I want to know what Mr. Buckley has done.