Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Before addressing correspondence, I will address our work programme. A number of members have sent suggestions to the clerk and I propose we address these this day next week. Later today, the Comptroller and Auditor General will publish the 2019 appropriation accounts, which are the accounts of Government Departments and offices. The Comptroller and Auditor General will publish his 2019 report on the accounts of the public services which identifies issues which, in his opinion, merit consideration by the Committee of Public Accounts in the interests of transparency and accountability. A briefing note will be circulated to all members and I ask members to identify their priorities in relation to the publications. Members can read those and if they identify issues, they can bring them to the clerk's attention no later than next Monday. I ask members to pay particular attention to their priorities in relation to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance, as these will be the first Departments to appear before the committee and that is what is in our work programme. The secretariat will compile a list of the bodies and issues that have been identified by members for consideration. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I will move on to correspondence. At our meeting last week, we agreed we would deal with correspondence categorised as C which was received since the last meeting of the previous committee, held on 12 December 2019. I have reviewed the correspondence and a list of the correspondence with proposed actions was circulated to members last Friday. Members were requested to highlight for further discussion any items they wished and to determine a course of action on them. The committee has agreed that the decision of the committee in relation to all items of correspondence will be published as part of the committee minutes. Correspondence from private individuals or personal details must not be published, only decisions of the committee in relation to the subject matter of the correspondence.

I will move on to correspondence from and related to private individuals. The first is No. 2666C from an individual dated 13 December 2019, a complaint regarding rail services provided by Iarnród Éireann. The matter is not within the remit of this committee and I note the correspondence is also copied to a number of members, including the chairman of the transport committee. I propose we note that item. Deputy Catherine Murphy wished to raise this issue.