Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 3 February 2022

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

9:30 am

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

If the Deputy will allow me, I will run through what is scheduled already. That is the best thing to do, and may be helpful. Several difficulties arise when trying to schedule meetings. As we have seen over the last year and a half, we can have difficulty scheduling meetings with representatives from organisations because of availability, diary conflicts or the time needed to prepare. It is difficult to arrange the schedule as we would wish it to be. The secretariat works diligently in this regard. It is not something done just once a month. The secretariat works not only weekly but daily, indeed, to engage and to try to keep things moving along. They do that six, seven and eight weeks in advance. It will be noted that it was difficult to schedule meetings at different times during the pandemic because we were not even sure if we would be able to have meetings. Arrangements cannot be made fortnightly or every three weeks, because if representatives from one organisation do drop out, then it will not be possible to fill that slot at short notice. It is necessary to give people a month's notice to allow them to prepare. I ask the committee members to bear that point in mind. Moving one meeting will have unintended consequences for people in other areas. I ask the members to be mindful of that aspect as well.

To outline the schedule, we have matters nailed down until 3 March. Commitments have been sought and given, and the preparation work has been done. To allow the secretariat to make the necessary arrangements and to avoid any potential scheduling difficulties, I will set out the work programme up to 5 May, as outlined in the work programme document circulated for today's meeting.

From 10 March, we will move into a series of justice-related meetings. We are scheduled to engage with the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, on that date. Last week, we agreed to engage with the Policing Authority the same morning.

The following week, beginning 14 March, is a non-sitting week. On 24 March, it is proposed to schedule an engagement with An Garda Síochána, and on 31 March, with the Department of Justice. If, for example, we schedule the meeting on mental health issues for 10 March, it will mean changing that arrangement again. I hope I am reflecting accurately that it is the committee's wish to get those issues relating to justice and the Garda, that is, with GSOC, the Policing Authority and An Garda Síochána, within the same block. We agreed last week that we will try to do it over two weeks. If we move the meeting of 10 March, it will mean kicking the can down the road on meeting those three bodies again. I do not know whether the committee wishes to do that, but I am just pointing out that it could create a difficulty.

I am also mindful of the point raised by Deputy McAuliffe, namely, that it may be better to try to cover this mental health piece in a series of meetings. There may have to be two or three related hearings on mental health-related issues. I ask members to bear that in mind, although I am open to suggestions about how we deal with it. As it stands, we will start those justice-related meetings on 10 March. Lá Fhéile Pádraig is 17 March and the next public meeting after that will be held on 24 March, when we will deal with An Garda Síochána. That will then conclude that set of meetings. I appreciate the urgency of this and I agree with Deputy Munster on the area of mental health services. We have had representatives of the HSE before us a number of times and, unfortunately, we have not had an opportunity to deal with mental health services. The issue requires and deserves a proper examination. We need to be careful that we do not knock everything else off the schedule.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.