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

I will do my best to take much less than 20 minutes. I thank the witnesses for attending. If they want to contribute at any point during my questions, they should feel free to do so. That includes the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Notwithstanding the remarks on current matters before the WRC, among other things, and the whistleblower who appeared before the committee, the only observation I will make on the point is timeliness. I refer to the timeliness of responding to the issue, dealing with the issue and, in one particular instance, the timeliness of the provision of crucial information to the whistleblower which, on my observation, was very poor. I will not get into the detail of it. I do not expect the witnesses will want to either but I just wanted to put it on the record.

I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General for his work on the accounts. Two major issues jump out at me. The first is non-compliance with procurement rules and the second is the issue of the additional Vote, which as a percentage of the overall budget is quite significant. I will start with the non-compliance with national procurement rules. I would like some details. The numbers have increased quite significantly as provided for in the report. There were five urgent purchases for €0.5 million. What is deemed urgent in the Prison Service? What would urgently require €0.5 million of expenditure that could not be foreseen?