Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The functions of the Comptroller and Auditor General come under the Department of Finance.

I take the Chairman's point on the broader question of broadening the pool of people whom we ask to contribute to different boards, projects and initiatives that the State is undertaking. An area for which I am directly responsible is the review of the national development plan. I will shortly be setting out my proposals in that area and it is my view that we need to bring in more private sector expertise to the oversight and management of projects. There are opportunities in the case of the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board, for example, which is, in effect, made up of Secretaries General, one external person and the chairperson of the OPW. We need people with a wider pool of skills serving on a board like that, given the really important role it plays in overseeing the implementation of the national planning framework and the NDP. In addition, we need more external oversight when we are bringing projects through the system. I will be bringing forward specific proposals in that regard very shortly as part of the NDP review and I would be more than happy to engage further with the committee on the matter.

The Chairman raised the issue that only 8% of public service posts above a certain grade are filled by people from outside the service. If I understood him correctly, he is saying that the point at which they start on the salary scale is a factor in this regard.