Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If the Comptroller and Auditor General had not done the report and identified that, a sum would have been still sitting in Bus Éireann's account. It should not take the actions of the Comptroller and Auditor General. It has independent auditors and the Department is over the scheme. There was no compulsion on the Comptroller and Auditor General to do the report. Had he not chosen to do it, that money may well have remained sitting in Bus Éireann's bank account. That is my point. Surely it should have its own mechanism in place to identify those matters.

I am going to associate another item of correspondence, No. 2556C from a private individual. We will note it because it deals specifically with this and highlights a parliamentary question published on 12 November asked by Deputy MacSharry, a member of this committee, in respect of this issue. The reply is suitably vague. We will note that item. We will not publish the name of the person but we will publish the parliamentary question and reply because they are a matter of public record. We are satisfied that we are going back to the Department on this issue.

Next is No. 2547B from Mr. Ray Mitchell of the HSE providing information we requested regarding Daisyhouse Housing Association. There is an ongoing issue. Issues were highlighted. They have given us an extensive briefing note in respect of the structure of what Daisyhouse does. We will note and publish this. They deal with 15 residents for residents to successfully move into long-term housing. They work with 14 tenants in long-term accommodation and have provided 32 people with access to health and well-being opportunities. In respect of funding to Daisyhouse, €237,000 is 51% of their funding and comes from the HSE under a section 39 agreement. They receive donations of 26% and receive some rent themselves and have some fundraising activities. Following the issues raised, they had a meeting in August 2018 and the social inclusion teams in the relevant areas in Dublin city and Wicklow met them. This organisation has now been included on the 2019 agreed audit plan by the HSE. There is a audit ongoing and we will ask to be kept informed of that audit when it is completed. We note and publish that.

Next is No.2548B from Mr. John O'Sullivan, chief executive and Commissioner of Valuation, dated 12 November 2019, providing the information we requested in relation to the valuation of public utility undertakings. Mr. O'Sullivan advises the global valuation process relates to the physical network occupied by certain public utilities for its principal purposes, mainly the supply of gas and telecommunications, issues like that. They have an overall valuation of €970 million which is designated as public utility undertakings for the purpose of the valuations. I just want to explain this to the public who will find it interesting. Global valuations apply where there are major organisations providing public utilities. They can be private companies providing public utilities across the vast majority of local authorities. The way the Valuation Office does it is to value the total assets and then apportion this to the relevant local authority areas in which there are assets of that organisation. This is so people will know what we are talking about. They have issued very good information here on a county-by-county basis for each of the following companies: 2RN, formerly RTÉ Transmission; BT Communications; Eircom; EirGrid; Eir Mobile; ESB Networks; Gas Networks Ireland; Iarnród Éireann; Irish Water; Three Ireland (Hutchison) Ltd.; Virgin Media Ireland Ltd.; and Vodafone. The highest valuation is in respect of ESB Networks across the country. The next highest valuation was Irish Water. The next highest was Gas Networks Ireland. Eircom was the fourth highest. The other ones are down the line. They give a breakdown of the valuation for each of those companies by local authority. People will know by looking at this that the 31 local authorities are split showing the valuation. Gas Networks Ireland has only 27 local authorities because there are some counties that have no natural gas network. It is not included. Eight local authorities have not had a recent revaluation and they are listed on the right hand side as a separate amount.

What I want to stress, because it is not covered in the letter - and perhaps there is an assumption that we know it but the public will not know it - is that while it gives the total global valuation of these organisations as €970 million, which is almost €1 billion, members of the public watching should know that is not €1 billion for local authorities. The local multiplier is applied in each local authority area in respect of the valuation designated by those organisations. We all know about counties that have had revaluations. People got a figure showing what the valuation was and they panicked. Then they went in and the local authority multiplier might have been 0.25 or 0.23 or whatever the case was. That is not money for local authorities from rates. It is the valuation and each local authority has its own local multiplier. The amount for local authorities is a fraction of this and it can only be obtained by getting the multiplier in each local authority area. Irish Water is the one that raised this issue in particular. There is great information for people who want it. I have run through it so the people watching understand what this correspondence and discussion is about.