Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, who is a permanent witness to the committee. He is joined by Ms Maureen Mulligan, deputy director of audit. Apologies have been received from Deputies Cullinane and Deering. On behalf of the committee, the staff and myself as Chairman, I offer our sincere condolences to Deputy Cullinane on the passing of his mother in recent days. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

The minutes of 13 December is the next item on the agenda. Are they agreed to? Agreed. We just have to make one typographical correction. The next item then is matters arising from the minutes. There is nothing specific that we will not come to in the course of our meeting. The next item is correspondence received since the last meeting. There is quite a bit because it has been a month since the last meeting. We will give this an hour or so and try to complete as much of it as we can. I do not want to hold too much over indefinitely. We go into our public session dealing with the Irish Prison Service some time after 10.30 a.m.

The first item of correspondence in category A, briefing documents and opening statements, is Nos. 1835 A and 1845 A from the Department of Justice and Equality, dated 10 January 2019 and 16 January, and the briefing papers and opening statements for today's meeting. We will note and publish those. Is that agreed? Agreed. The next category of correspondence is from category B, Accounting Officers or Ministers or both, as well as follow-up to Committee of Public Accounts meetings and other items for publication. The first item of correspondence is No. 1761 B from Ms Mary Lawlor, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, NAMA, dated 29 November 2018, providing further information requested by the committee in relation to Project Nantes and the question of the sale of assets. We raised the issue in respect of section 172 disclosures. I suggest we note and publish this letter from NAMA on the breakdown of the €24 billion in asset sales categorised by the jurisdiction of purchaser. In respect of the section 172 declaration, we are getting legal advice on that. We might take that in private session early next week. We will publish that documentation but we will have to come back and get legal advice from the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisor, as NAMA has sought its advice as to where we are with this issue.

The next item is No. 1792 B from Mr. Phelim Quinn, CEO, Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, dated 11 December 2018, enclosing a copy of HIQA's workforce plan for 2018 as requested by the committee. It is good and positive to note that the Department has sanctioned 47 additional posts for the authority. We will note and publish that, including the workforce plan. It may already be in the public arena but we will publish it in any event. The next item is No. 1794 B from Ms Katherine Licken, Secretary General, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, dated 11 December 2018, providing notes requested by the committee in relation to Galway as the European Capital of Culture in 2020, including the role played by the Department's representative on the board as well as a note on monitoring reports and meetings. We will note and publish that. There are dates of meetings and reports.