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

It is important. It is a big scheme that runs in the region of €1 billion per annum. It is important that we get that report. If everyone is happy with that, we will ask the secretariat to follow up on that and we will have it flagged for when they come before us.

The next item of correspondence is No. 910B from Mr. Bernard Gloster, chief executive, Tusla, dated 22 November. It provides further information that was requested by the committee at our meeting with Tusla on 21 October. This is a comprehensive response to 22 requests for information arising from that meeting, including a number of supporting documents. As it was flagged by Deputy Catherine Murphy, who is not in attendance, I propose we hold it over until next week. Is that agreed? Agreed. I wish to note, in contrast to the previous item, this is a comprehensive report on all the issues we asked Tusla to come back to us on. We will move on now. That completes correspondence received.

Next is No. 4, our work programme. We have two public engagements remaining this year. Next Thursday, 9 December, we will engage with the Department of Social Protection in relation to the 2020 appropriation account for Vote 37 - Social Protection. Also on the agenda is the Social Insurance Fund and the Comptroller and Auditor General's 2020 report on the accounts of the public services, which covers chapter 9 - regularity of social welfare payments; chapter 10 - management of social welfare appeals; and chapter 11 - controls over the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment.

On 16 December, we will engage with the Department of Health, as stated earlier, regarding its 2020 appropriation account for Vote 38 – Health. The Department has been made aware that the committee wishes to discuss the two outstanding reports, namely the children’s hospital report, which was submitted to the Department of Health at the start of this year, and the value for money review of the nursing homes support scheme, which is often referred to as the fair deal scheme.

Last week we agreed our work programme for early in the new year. I thank the members for submitting their items on that. Our first engagement will be with RTÉ on 20 January, and the secretariat will work to schedule meetings with the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland thereafter.

We will continue to revisit the work programme each week. Do members wish to raise any other matters on the work programme or are they happy that we have got it right this time? If anybody wants to flag an issue regarding those invited bodies, I ask that they do so as early as possible with the clerk to the committee and that they want answers on a specific issue. That concludes our consideration of the work programme.

The next item is any other business. Do members wish to raise any other matters? No.

We will now go into private session before adjourning until 9.30 a.m. on 9 December, when we will engage with the Department of Social Protection.