Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

As stated by the Chairman, there are 27 sets of financial statements. In general, they relate to the 2020 year of account and, in most cases, a clear audit opinion. No. 1 is the special EU Programmes Body, which is a North-South body that I audit in conjunction with the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland. It gets a clear audit opinion. No. 2 is the National Library of Ireland, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 3 is the Local Government Fund, which is a substantial amount of €1.5 billion, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 4 is An Bord Pleanála, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 5 is the Credit Institutions Resolution Fund which, again, gets a clear audit opinion. No. 6 is the Food Safety Promotion Board, again a North-South body, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 7 is the National Council for Special Education, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 8 is the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland. In this case, I gave a qualified audit opinion. The accounts give a true and fair view except in regard to pension funding, in my view. Unlike most other grant-funded bodies, the financial statements of the National Tourism Development Authority do not recognise a deferred retirement benefit funding asset in regard to some of its pension liabilities. This is on the basis that the authority considers that it has not been provided with a statutory or other guarantee in regard to the future funding of the scheme. As a result, it has a net liability position on its statement of financial position, but it still believes that it is appropriate to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis. I have drawn attention to that. I think it should be recognising a matching pension funding asset.

No. 9 is Tourism Ireland, again a North-South body, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 10 is the An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 11 is the Intestate Estates Fund Deposit Account, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 12 is the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and its accounts for 2020. I give a qualified opinion in that case also. The accounts give a true and fair view except that they account for the costs of retirement benefit entitlements of staff only as they become payable. That is a standard instruction for health sector bodies from the Minister for Health. Otherwise, the accounts give a true and fair view. No. 13 is the special account Hepatitis C Insurance Scheme, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 14 is the National Training Fund, again a sizeable fund of €718 million, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 15 is St. Angela's College, which is a college of education in Sligo, to which I gave a clear audit opinion but I draw attention to Note 11, which again relates to retirement benefits accrued by current and former staff. That is standard for the university sector. No. 16 is the National University of Ireland, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 17 is the Law Reform Commission, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 18 is St. James's Hospital, which is one of the section 28 hospitals. It is given a clear audit opinion, but I draw attention to non-compliance with procurement rules in that case. No. 19 is the Sport Ireland Facilities company, which is a subsidiary of Sport Ireland, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 20 is the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, which gets a clear audit opinion, but I draw attention to Note 9 to the financial statements, which deals with the superannuation arrangements for staff. Discussions are ongoing between the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Finance about the responsibility for the funding of pension liabilities under the schemes. That has not been resolved.

No. 21 is the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 22 is the Leopardstown Park Hospital Board, again a section 38 hospital, which gets a clear audit opinion. No. 23 is the special account for the purpose of the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006.

This is a relatively small turnover and it was reimbursement of charges that were improperly levied. A scheme was put in place to provide for that. It is a clear audit opinion. Related to that is the health repayment scheme donations fund, which had a nil turnover but the account continues to exist. There is a clear audit opinion on that. The Health Service Executive consolidated patients' private property account, which had a turnover of €41 million and net assets as of 31 December of a total of €103 million got a clear audit opinion. This is actually private funding of individuals but it is being managed and held in trust by the Health Service Executive.

No. 26 is the Institute of Public Administration and that got a clear audit opinion. No. 27 is the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which gets a clear audit opinion. There were three of the accounts that were signed on 30 June and only presented in December. They are within the committee's scope for asking for an explanation. Those are No. 4, An Bord Pleanála; No. 8, the Fáilte Ireland accounts; and No. 27, the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The certificate for the National University of Ireland was signed on 30 August but the Department has already provided the committee with an explanation for why it was late. That is in the correspondence for today.