Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is private individual correspondence, No. 1860, under section C. We will note it and publish it. That is my response to the broader point in that I could foresee people trying to continue the debate that started last year that suggested the Committee of Public Accounts should not discuss anything because it might influence something else down the road. We are not going there. We will deal with the Vote in the normal course of events.

The next item is No. 1865 from the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, in regard to information requested by the committee. It seems to be more of a constituency query in regard to Laois. For some reason, it came back through the Committee of Public Accounts rather than through my constituency office. We will note that and I will deal with it.

The next item is No. 1868 from the managing director of the regional Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland in regard to a meeting. An invitation has issued and we have received confirmation they will attend the meeting when we are dealing with broadband.

The next item is No. 1887 from an individual regarding wards of court. This person has been in contact with the committee over a considerable period. The matter remains unresolved and members are free to raise the matter. I propose we note the item and write to the individual explaining that the decisions to be made in regard to wards of court do not fall within the remit of this committee. The correspondent is watching our debate every week and is fully aware of that.

However, we will come back to the issue we raised with the State Claims Agency. We got very interesting information that the majority of funding it pays out in regard to major injuries is paid before the award is actually granted in court. The HSE applies for wardship of court in regard to the individual and sometimes the parents do not understand this as it happens in the final few minutes of protracted court proceedings. The money is then handed over for the permanent care of that person to those administering the wardship, which comes under the Courts Service. It might be a policy issue but I do not see why the State Claims Agency should be handing over hundreds of millions to another State body to invest it when the NTMA is meant to be the expert in regard to managing and investing funds. I know there is an issue of the independence of the courts and that is beyond their remit. However we will come to that issue of the transfer of funding when we are dealing with the State Claims Agency, which we will be coming back to as part of the medical negligence issue. Much of this comes out as a result of medical negligence cases.

The next item is No. 1890 from Deputy MacSharry, dated 21 January 2019, regarding canteen services for prison officers. The Deputy provides information and a reply he has issued to certain people. Does Deputy MacSharry wish to comment?