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

We will note and publish the correspondence.

There are no other items of correspondence for consideration today. However, one matter which I would like to raise is a request we made to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to include the remuneration of Accounting Officers in the appropriation accounts, beginning with the 2021 accounts. We made this request in the interests of transparency and accountability and because State bodies are required to disclose similar information. I understand that the information was requested by 11 February. The secretariat followed up on 14 February to ask when the committee could expect a response but has not received a reply. With the agreement of the committee, I ask the clerk to bring this matter to the Secretary General’s attention and request that we have a response before next meeting on 10 March. Is that agreed? Agreed. We had discussed this and agreed that it should be itemised in the accounts.

The next item is the work programme. Next week, on 3 March we will have the final meeting in our series of housing-related meetings with Home Building Finance Ireland. Please let the clerk know if there are any areas of particular interest arising from Home Building Finance Ireland's financial statements in order that a briefing can be requested in advance of the meeting and the witnesses can be prepared to engage on the areas of interest to the committee.

On 10 March, we will engage with the HSE regarding expenditure on mental health services, with a particular focus on child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, expenditure. Last week we agreed to request a detailed breakdown of that expenditure, as well as associated governance and oversight arrangements. We also agreed to include expenditure in relation to the Owenacurra centre in Cork on the agenda for that meeting and briefing has been requested in that regard as well. On the engagement with the HSE on 10 March, we had agreed that representatives of HSE estates would be present.

The week after that, 17 March, is a non-sitting week. We had agreed to schedule a meeting with the University of Limerick on 24 March but while the president was available, the chancellor was not. We had also sought information in relation to the Department of Health and the HSE’s availability on that date but as neither are available, we need to agree how to proceed on 24 March.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, had been mentioned in the work programme in the context of the national retrofit schemes and SEAI grants. Other bodies on the work programme include the Central Bank and Revenue Commissioners in relation to the outstanding chapter on assessment and collection of insurance compensation fund levies. Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Body, IHRB, were also raised. We have reviewed the last meeting with HRI with a view to drafting a report but there is little of significance that the committee has not already progressed through correspondence. A further meeting with both bodies might provide additional material. There is also the Department of Education and its outstanding special report on education and training boards, ETBs. We need to confirm which we wish to go with on 24 March. Are members happy that we would arrange a meeting with the SEAI? It is accountable.