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

The Deputy is happy enough with the items. They have been circulated to members for their attention. They can review them.

On the work programme, the revised meeting arrangements for committees will see this committee engaging with public bodies on Thursday mornings at 9.30 a.m. We hope to have a public meeting slot for business, such as that today, at least every other week. A revised work programme has been circulated among members and, as things stand, our next confirmed meeting is with An Bord Pleanála this Thursday, 13 May, at 9.30 a.m.

An invitation — this is the tricky one — has been issued to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board for Thursday, 20 May, and we requested that the long-overdue progress report on the project in regard to the cost and timeline for completion be made available to the committee in advance of that engagement. I understand the board was requested to confirm its availability by last Tuesday but did not do so. I asked that the clerk request confirmation not later than yesterday. However, the board's position as of yesterday on its availability and on making the progress report available in advance of the meeting is:

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board is currently engaging with the Department of Health on this matter. We are unable to confirm attendance at this time but plan to respond later on this week.

I will ask the clerk to keep Members updated on this. It is enormously frustrating.

Members will recall that, late last year, we were looking for the progress report on the costs and completion date. We deferred our meeting with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board until February of this year in the hope the report would be in front of us. We did not have it. We had the witnesses in here. We requested the report again and we were to have it in March. It has been long-fingered since then. I ask that the clerk relay to those concerned that the situation is unsatisfactory and we expect this to be dealt with quickly. We should also correspond with the new Secretary General of the Department of Health asking that he use his office to have this matter expedited. The board is saying it is dealing with the Department on this matter. This has been long-fingered repeatedly and the public needs answers on this issue. We are being fobbed off on this. Mr. Robert Watt should be requested to revert to us regarding a date for the report, both in terms of the expected final cost and a timeline for completion. I ask the clerk to request that representatives of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board appear before this committee in the near future.

Inquiries have been made with the Department of Transport in regard to 27 May. I will open the matter to the floor because members can see there is an issue regarding 20 May. We cannot invite in an Accounting Officer or a Secretary General at such short notice. He or she would have only a week, which would not would give reasonable time in which to prepare. Members may have other suggestions for the date. Inquiries have been made with the Department of Transport regarding 27 May. Does any member wish to comment? They are happy enough.

What I have outlined will take us until the end of May. We are provisionally scheduled to engage with either the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on 6 June. There are important matters to be dealt with in this regard. To allow preparations to be made, I will ask members to make an input if they have suggestions. Representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs have not been before the committee since 2018. Matters for examination include the appropriation account for 2019, Vote 27 - International Co-operation, and Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as chapter 8 from the Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2019 – controls over humanitarian assistance funding.

Regarding the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, we could resume our consideration of its 2019 appropriation accounts, Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government, as well as the Local Government Fund and expenditure on the housing assistance payment and the rental assistance scheme, or hold a stand-alone meeting on emergency accommodation. How do Members wish to proceed? Some of us have requested a stand-alone session on the Local Government Fund and the expenditure on the housing assistance payment and the rental assistance scheme. Is it agreed we continue to look for this? I take it as agreed. Deputy Hourigan flagged the issue of emergency accommodation. Since no member wishes to comment on that, we will ask the clerk to include in the invitation a direction requesting a focus specifically on the Local Government Fund and the expenditure on the housing assistance payment, the rental assistance scheme and emergency accommodation. Is that agreed? Agreed.

That concludes our consideration of the work programme. Does anyone wish to raise any other matter?