Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. The Deputy has sent us a letter, No. 1733 C. We were coming to it shortly. It is specifically about seeking a detailed note regarding the removal of the gates in the Phoenix Park and their repair, restoration and re-erection. It asks whether it had been discussed before it was known that there would be a papal visit. The correspondence also says "in view of the spreadsheet of costs supplied by the OPW, the Deputy wishes to explore the way in which some companies were selected to provide services and infrastructure, were correct tender protocols and procedures adhered to, was the competitiveness of the tendering robust and so on." We will inquire about all of that at the Deputy's request.

I will come to the letter in a moment. We will note and publish No. 1700B. We will also note and follow up on Deputy Murphy's request, No. 1733C.

No. 1715B is from Mr. Ray Mitchell, assistant national director, Health Service Executive, and is dated 12 November 2018. It deals with the transfer of properties from religious congregations to the HSE under the various agreements from 2002 and 2009. We are on the case. The Committee of Public Accounts will ensure progress is made. Progress was not made for years. Some of the properties fall under the remit of the HSE, which states that of the 2002 offers, there were two remaining properties, namely, the Sacred Heart centre in Waterford and a property in Cappoquin. The closing documents for the property in Cappoquin were received last week from the congregation's solicitor and similar documentation for the centre in Waterford is expected soon. It is hoped the transfers will be finalised in the next couple of months. We will ask the HSE to provide an update in January.

In 2009, six properties were offered, of which five were accepted by the HSE, only one of which has transferred. Four properties are outstanding. One is the St. Bernard's Group Homes in Fethard. The correspondence states that the transfer document has been competed and the consent of the Minister and the Charities Regulatory Authority have been received. The property is now being registered. That is fine. The contract documents for the Catherine McAuley centre in Kells have been received and signed, the Minister's consent has been requested and is awaited. The committee will write to the Minister asking that he give that consent as quickly as possible to allow this transfer to proceed.

With regard to a property on Gracepark Road, on 14 June last, the solicitors were advised by the congregation's solicitor that the contracts and title documents would issue shortly. The documents are awaited. The committee will write to the HSE to ask its solicitors to contact the congregation's solicitors forthwith in order that this can proceed.

On the National Rehabilitation Hospital property, the position appears a little complicated. HSE estates say it will reach a transfer and lease-back arrangement for the National Rehabilitation Hospital lands. This will result in a change to the National Rehabilitation Hospital Trust. The original trust owns the land and the new trust will be involved in the sale and lease-back. A due diligence process on the new trust has commenced and will have to be completed before the lands can be transferred. The target date for the completion of this process is the end of 2018. The committee will ask for a note to be provided on this issue in January. We will keep on top of that issue.

No. 1717B is from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment regarding electricity interconnectors, the need for windmills or wind farms to produce surplus energy and what happens to this surplus. Some of it can be exported and the Department advises that in 2017 the rate of curtailment of available wind energy was 4%. The committee will send this detailed response on the utilisation and export of excess wind energy to the correspondent. It has been suggested that this excess is dumped at an uneconomic price to the UK. The reply will be of interest to many.

No. 1718B is from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills, dated 12 November 201. It relates to seeking information on the powers of the Minister and the Higher Education Authority, HEA, to carry out different types of investigations. We can note and publish this correspondence, which makes some interesting points. It is the Department's view that the HEA has the power to review compliance with conditions when it is granting funding. The Department states it has received the advice of the Attorney General on this issue and it is being assessed by Department officials. A further update will be provided to the committee members as soon as possible, once the Department has finalised its assessment of the legal advice. That is important and we will monitor that. The letter refers to a timeline for a review of the HEA legislation and the results of a public consultation. The consultation took place during the summer and 14 submissions were received. A consultation forum will be held tomorrow in the Department to provide an update on the HEA legislation. All of those who made submissions are invited. This process will ultimately lead to heads of a Bill.