Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

No. 27, Leopardstown Park Hospital, received a clear audit opinion. No. 28, St. James's Hospital Board, received a clear audit opinion. However, in that case I drew attention to a material level of procurement non-compliance. In this case, it reports that 86% of its €256 million procurement was compliant. If you do the reverse, that would imply that an estimated €35.4 million of its procurement was non-compliant. That is quite significant. Beaumont Hospital, No. 29, received a clear audit opinion, but I also drew attention to a material level of procurement non-compliance. In that case the figure is an estimated €18.5 million.

No. 30 is Children's Health Ireland, which will be before the committee in the coming weeks. This received a qualified audit opinion. This is an unusual issue but it does arise in the health sector. The reason for it is that, in my view, the accounts give a true and fair view of the financial transactions and the financial position of Children's Health Ireland except that they account for the costs of retirement benefit entitlements of staff only as they become payable. The accounts are accrual accounts and, in the normal way, to give a true and fair view, they should be accruing the liabilities in relation to pensions that have been incurred in the period of account. Because of a direction from the Minister for Health, which is long-standing, in the health sector, they account for pensions only as they are paid. Therefore, I have to give a qualified audit opinion on that specific point. Otherwise, as I said, they give a true and fair view.

Separately on that account, I draw attention to a number of items. First, claims to the value of €250,000 from Children's Health Ireland were rejected by private insurers as they had not been submitted on time and were outside the required timeframe, so that was a loss of potential income. A second matter is that at the end of the previous CEO's contract, a settlement agreement was reached to appoint her to a new strategic director role within Children's Health Ireland on her existing remuneration level. Where there is a matter of settlement with a chief officer of a body, I will normally draw attention to that. Finally, I drew attention to a material level of procurement non-compliance in Children's Health Ireland which I have done previously as well. This was for a total value of €5.2 million.

No. 31 is the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. Again, there is a qualified audit opinion. It is the same standard issue that 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.

The Medical Council received a clear audit opinion but I drew attention to a material level of procurement non-compliance in that case.

No. 33, the National Disability Authority received a clear audit opinion.

No. 34, the Health Insurance Authority received a qualified audit opinion. Again, this was because of the accounting treatment for retirement benefit entitlements. I should point out here that, in the financial statements that were presented for the Health Insurance Authority, there is a second account. This is the account of the risk equalisation fund. It is not called out separately on the list. The turnover on the risk equalisation fund in 2023 was €860 million. That is the more important aspect of these financial statements but the transactions on the fund are accounted for separately. It received a clear audit opinion. We might amend the list so that it is clear these were presented together.

No. 35, the National Treatment Purchase Fund received a qualified audit opinion. Again, this is the standard one of the accounting treatment for retirement benefit entitlements.

No. 36, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, received a qualified audit opinion on the same basis. Otherwise, it was a true and fair view.

No. 37, the hepatitis C insurance scheme, which is a special account managed by the HSE. This received a clear audit opinion.

No. 38, the Health Service Executive consolidated patients' private property account, received a clear audit opinion.

No. 39, a special account for the purposes of the health repayment scheme, received a clear audit opinion.

No. 40, the health repayment scheme donations fund account, received a clear audit opinion. For Nos. 39 and 40 there were no transactions in relation to it. They are almost dormant accounts at this stage.

No. 41, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, received a qualified opinion on the basis of how it accounts for retirement benefit entitlements. I also draw attention to an additional tax liability to the value of €812,000 in relation to external assessors, who had been treated as contractors by the council but who should have been treated as employees. The council had to pay an additional €812,000 to Revenue to settle that liability.

No. 42, the National Haemophilia Council, received a clear audit opinion.

No. 43, the Health Research Board, received a qualified audit opinion on the retirement benefit accounting.

No. 44, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, received a qualified audit opinion in respect of the accounting treatment of retirement benefit entitlements. Secondarily, I drew attention to an additional payment of €107.6 million, excluding VAT, in respect of critical delay events on the construction project where court proceedings have been initiated. The €107.6 million is not recognised as a payment in the year. It is only disclosed in the contingent liability note, but that payment has actually been made to the contractor. I think the committee will have the opportunity examine that further next week when the board is before the committee.

Those are the health sector ones.