Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We want the figures up to the end of 2018. We want data that are as recent as possible. I know that the increase was not so big but it is at a much higher base now. That is my question and the Department will come back to me with a response on that.

I see value in having consolidated reports because I suspect that the majority of Members of the Dáil do not appreciate that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for example, is not accountable to the Dáil for the spending of €1.3 billion or whatever the figure happens to be. We tripped upon it here with the Department and asked it about the EU funds. The Secretary General, as the Accounting Officer, signs off on the report which is sent to the European Commission but not to the Oireachtas. There is no mechanism in place. There is nothing stopping the Oireachtas from examining the accounts and we discussed it when we came across it but there is no formal mechanism in the Oireachtas to examine all of this money coming in from the EU. That is why there would be a benefit to having a report. This is relevant, for example, in the context of what happened in the Brexit debate. People were able to make all sorts of crazy statements about how much Britain would save by not having to contribute to the EU. I am not saying that such a debate could happen in Ireland but people can make outlandish statements in this country and if the Department does not have proper figures, it cannot reject those statements. In that sense, the Department has a duty to compile those figures. The witnesses spoke about the risks in the Department. There is a risk that a Brexit-like debate could happen in Ireland, which could be damaging. All it takes is for someone in the Department to put a report together each year, including all of the important figures, so that it could respond quickly to such a debate, were it to raise its head in Ireland. One does not know what way political debates will go. One would hope that facts would win out at the end of the day but in the absence of a consolidated, factual report, the job is made more difficult.

I note from paragraph 2.3 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that in 1985, the UK correction lowered the contribution made by the EU by way of a rebate, which is replaced by an additional contribution by other member states. I think that was when Mrs. Thatcher got her money back. Am I right?