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

Apologies have been received from Deputy Sherlock.

I welcome everybody to the meeting, which is taking place in the Dáil Chamber to enable members to attend in person while adhering to the public health guidelines. Some Deputies are appearing remotely from their offices within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings members must be physically present within the confines of the Parliament. I ask those who are attending remotely to confirm they are within the precincts to fulfil that constitutional requirement. We are joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, as a permanent witness to the committee.

Members are reminded of the provisions of Standing Order 218 that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

The minutes of the meetings on 4 and 9 March have been circulated to members. Are the minutes agreed? Agreed. As previously agreed, the minutes will be published on the committee’s webpage.

The next item of business on today’s agenda is correspondence. We have a substantial amount to deal with. The Committee of Public Accounts has traditionally considered its correspondence in public session but due to Covid-19 restrictions, revised meeting arrangements have limited the committee’s opportunities to meet in public. We have mainly used that time to fulfil our core role, which is to examine the accounts of public bodies that are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

However, we have set aside time today to consider a number of items of correspondence. Decisions of the committee on items of correspondence that are not addressed at today’s meetings are recorded in the minutes of the committee’s meetings which are published on the Oireachtas website.

No. 381B is from Ms Eilísh Hardiman, chief executive of Children's Health Ireland, dated 17 February 2021 providing information requested by the committee on non-compliant procurement. At our meeting on 25 February, we decided to note and publish this item. It was also agreed to hold it over for consideration in public. This item is flagged for discussion by Deputies Catherine Murphy and Carthy.