Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will put it simply. It is regrettable that it has come to this. The committee unanimously agreed three weeks ago that the Secretary General of the Department for which we are the select committee would come before us so that we would gain a deeper understanding of the role of the Department and its oversight of major capital projects.

After initial correspondence, it was indicated that he would not appear before this committee or dates were not suitable. We provided five or six suitable dates that we thought he could accommodate. We also asked that Mr. Paul Quinn appear before the committee as well. To date, we have received no acceptance of any of those dates. Indeed, we received a letter of conditionality which places an onus on the Chair of this committee to adjudicate as to the appropriate committee.

This is a simple matter. We are elected members of the Oireachtas Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. We have agreed that the Secretary General should come before us. The Secretary General should come before us. It should not be conditional.

On the basis that we have not got acceptance from the Secretary General that he will appear before us on a date that is acceptable to both parties, I proposed the deferral of these Estimates. This could be wrapped up in a quick phone call and we could proceed to take the Estimates in a short period of time.

I feel strongly that respect is a two-way street. I respect the Minister when he is before this committee as he answers the questions that we put to him - one cannot take that away from him - and the Secretary General and the officials. As a committee of the Irish Parliament, respect has to be shown to us as well.

Up until now, there has been refusal to accept any of the dates that are acceptable and a letter with conditionality was issued yesterday. On that basis, until we have clarity, I propose deferral of these Estimates.