Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have discussed the 2017 accounts already. The 2018 accounts are under audit at the moment and will be dealt with later.

No. 2147B is from Mr. Liam Sloyan, chief executive officer of the National Treatment Purchase Fund. It is dated 2 May 2019 and updates the committee regarding the review of the system of pricing under the nursing home support scheme. The National Treatment Purchase Fund advises that its review of the scheme was being finalised and was expected to be with the Minister at this stage. However, the secretariat informs me that it does not believe it is with the Minister yet. I propose we ask to be kept updated. We want to keep that matter very much on our radar because many people are interested in that particular topic. We note and publish that.

No. 2148B from Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, dated 3 May 2019, provides information requested by the committee with regard to a timescale in respect of the improvement of cost estimations and an information note on the assessment process to determine whether a project meets the value for money criteria and how this is integrated into the approval process for any major projects. We note and publish this. Much of this issue relates to the timescale in respect of improvements in cost estimation. It is expected that phase 1 will be completed very soon as part of the public spending code and it is expected that phase 2 will be completed towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year. We will hold that in our files for ongoing reference purposes.