Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We included a chapter on JobPath in our earlier periodic report. I will ask the secretariat to go back through our recent periodic reports immediately. We have received the formal response from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding our previous communication. I do not think we have received a response from the Department regarding some of our previous periodic reports, however. We want to have that response when we are back here in two weeks. I am referring to the earlier periodic report which addressed this issue. I am sure the response from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will refer to this issue and that it will consult the line Department. When we get that note from the Department, we follow up on the recommendations we made in our second last periodic report.

I am stressing that I want the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to get its replies back to this committee in a timely manner. There have been unacceptable delays in replying to us, and these include a response to recommendations made last year about matters being considered in the Estimates. The Department took so long to respond to our report on that occasion that it stated the Estimates process had concluded when it did eventually reply. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is taking too long to respond to these reports. I know it is a busy Department but this concerns public accountability. It should be a key function of public accountability that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would respond to the reports of the Committee of Public Accounts in a timely manner. We want this matter dealt with as quickly as possible.