Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Murphy and his team for attending again and for their willingness to do so annually.

I bow to the experience of the former Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I am not an accountant, but I have a few questions. They are observations more than anything else. It is clear that Mr. Murphy presides over a large operation and that it is a useful exercise.

The level of error in payments has increased to 4.2%. Is that cause for concern or was it inevitable? What is the trend likely to be?

My second question is on Ukraine. The budget exposure to Ukraine has increased from €7 billion to €16 billion. I would be anxious to know a little more about this matter, particularly as it relates to the European Peace Facility whereby some countries are providing weaponry or, in the case of neutral countries, non-lethal equipment. How is that handled in the accounts? Where the expenditure on Ukraine is concerned, can Mr. Murphy go into more detail? Obviously, it was crisis management initially from an EU perspective.

How is that now being managed and monitored? That is my second question.

Every year, we tend to ask about the levels of bureaucracy and form-filling for the citizen under the various schemes and so forth, and our guests tend to reply every year that they are doing their best not to increase the burden on the citizens in relation to form-filling. Perhaps Mr. Murphy would like to make a comment in that regard.

I thank Mr. Murphy for flagging the debt problems that may emerge and the position of Ireland and its own resources. I know Mr. Murphy is not commenting on that but it is an issue the committee will have to look at in due course.