Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Yes. There were a number of things that stood out. I will refer to one. The prefabs in the longest standing rental agreement have stood since 2000. There is a building going up now but one would have to ask about value for money in terms of the length of time that took and it is important that we note that. There may well be others that are not as long but that could be nearly as long.

It would be quite useful to get a few more examples, perhaps five, six or even ten examples of the length of time. There is the cost of renting and the issue of substandard accommodation as well. I ask that this be done.

With regard to the payroll system, Mr. Ó Foghlú states on page 3 that there are approximately 9,000 casual employees and that there is a new standard of governance and approval process for the sourcing of goods and services. An interim payroll upgrade is under way and it is due to be completed in the latter part of 2021. He said the implementation of a new payroll system could take up to three or four years, which is a surprisingly long lead-in time for something like this. It is stated there is a very complex system with four different streams on the payroll, with primary, post-primary, non-teaching staff and retired people but there are 9,000 casual employees. I received information in reply to a parliamentary question that under the home tuition scheme, home tutors have always been engaged by parents or guardians of a child who receives home tuition. Tutors do not have a contractual relationship with the Department. Are they among the 9,000? What is the proportion of these 9,000 casual employees? I acknowledge that some of them are probably substitute teachers. A little more examination needs to happen so we can get an understanding of it.

The average compensation payment does not always compute in the one year. It is not entirely satisfactory that we are unable to see it all and it may well be that we have to look back historically. Where there are compensation payments, we have to learn whether there are things that can be avoided in the future. It is very important that we see the cost of something and the value of doing some work. That is the reason I am particularly picking up on this.

There is an important paragraph on page 6 on the school transport system and the fact that some moneys were paid back to the Exchequer. It is an important paragraph with regard to some issues we have previously looked at. It would be quite useful to ask about the final sentence on page 7 and whether it is intended to pursue a Garda investigation. Perhaps we can ask for an update in a few months just to keep an eye on it.