Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

Public Accounts Committee

Business of the Committee

4:30 pm

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

We will now move on to financial statements and accounts received. One set of accounts was laid before the Dáil between 5 October and 9 October. These are the accounts for the State Examinations Commission and they have received a clear audit opinion. It is agreed that these accounts be noted? Agreed.

We will move on to the work programme. We had a wide-ranging discussion on the programme last week and we agreed to proceed with a number of meetings. The secretariat has commenced the work of scheduling these meetings and next week we will have an indicative schedule of meetings up to the end of the year. Members will see in the minutes of the meeting of 7 October the proposal for the work programme. The dates will obviously be subject to the availability of the Accounting Officers from the various Departments and agencies, but the programme is to include meetings with the Department of Education and Skills, the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The clerk has been asked to ensure that the land aggregation scheme is on the agenda for that latter meeting as it comes under that Department. We are also to have meetings with the Department of Justice and Equality and the Irish Prison Service. There is to be a meeting with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection at which the main issue to be discussed will be JobPath although members may wish to include other issues on the agenda. The Revenue Commissioners will be invited to a meeting to deal with the issue we have just discussed, bogus self-employment, and there is to be a meeting with the HSE regarding procurement and agency staff.

The schedule is fairly full. Some meetings will probably have to be broken into two hearings given the two-hour restriction we are operating under. There are a number of other issues to be considered including third level and further education, which was raised by a number of members. This schedule is just to give us a plan for the rest of the year and to ensure that we deal with the main issues highlighted by members both here and in correspondence with the clerk.

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