Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The contract was in the millions of euro. They have been using the same supplier for a number of years. It has been for nearly a decade. They keep extending the contract and it appears to me that it is a non-compliant procurement. However, these are all related problems with the organisation.

Regarding the appropriation accounts, as members may be aware, there were 45 in total for Departments. They were all presented last week. They all received clear audit opinion. The accounts properly present the transactions and financial position. For a number of the accounts, I draw attention to certain matters that are disclosed. There are links to chapters in the report and the accounts of the public services for 2022. I do not propose to go through them in detail because there are too many of them, and because I think they are already in the public domain.

Moving on to accounts, No. 52 is the Health Products Regulatory Authority for 2022. That received a qualified audit opinion. The accounts give a true and fair view, except for the fact that they account for the costs of retirement benefit entitlements of staff, only as they become payable. That is a standard qualification for many of the health bodies.

Finally, No. 53 is on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for 2022, which received a clear audit opinion.

The Chairman may recall that I have a report that deals with two significant schemes operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland that the committee may be interested in examining.