Mr. Peter Finnegan:

Absolutely, and I will provide an update on that point. The OPW briefed the commission on Tuesday and the handover of the building takes place on 2 August. All is on track.

Another notable feature of the spend in 2018 was expenditure on legal proceedings. During 2018, the O'Brien and Kerins Supreme Court cases were managed by the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. The judgments were delivered in 2019. Liabilities arising from the Kerins case remain to be quantified and should fall due for payment during the current three-year funding allocation period 2019 to 2021.

A major feature of our work during the past three years has been our public engagement programme. When the Ceann Comhairle took up his position he spoke about a Parliament of the people. We have pursued that during the past three years. Part of this involves the Vótáil 100 commemorations during 2018, which provided the opportunity to increase public understanding and improve perception of the Oireachtas, especially the role of women in our national Parliament. The programme of events reflected positively on both the Oireachtas and on the service and provided an appropriate platform for the Dáil 100 programme, which is ongoing. In addition, our public engagement programme included a significant parliamentary education programme which is delivered by our education officer, Conor Reale. This has been strengthened significantly following Conor's arrival in the Oireachtas.

In 2018 we published a new policy on dignity and respect. The parliamentary community, which comprises Members, their staff, civil servants and service providers, have signed up to the dignity and respect statement of principles and policies which developed over the course of the past year.

I will turn briefly to corporate governance. The main policies and procedures for corporate governance of the service are outlined in the governance framework. This includes the assurance framework that sets out the key sources of assurance, internal and external, underpinning the governance arrangements and activities of the service. A review of the management committee was completed in 2018. A new structure of management board and strategic committees evolved that focuses on providing strategic direction to oversee and account for the performance of the service through collective leadership. The board reviewed the risk and corporate governance controls of the service. We are now in the process of further professionalising our governance functions to include a chief risk officer, chief financial officer and a qualified internal auditor. Our new chief financial officer is due to start at the beginning of September. The commission's audit committee advises me on financial matters relating to my functions and advises the commission on matters of corporate governance relating to its functions. The reports are published in the commission's annual reports.

For the next three years up to 2021, the budget allocated for running the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is €422.3 million. The commission adopted its strategic plan last Tuesday and has identified four key strategic goals. These are: the development of an effective Parliament; an open and engaged Parliament; a digital Parliament; and a well-supported parliamentary community.

I wish to acknowledge the support and assistance provided by the Ceann Comhairle, the Cathaoirleach and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. My colleagues and I in the Houses of the Oireachtas Service take immense pride in serving our national Parliament and its members. We look forward to contributing to its development during the period 2019 to 2021. I am now happy to take any questions members of the committee may have.