Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. The primary function of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is to provide the services necessary to support the functioning of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The commission operates under the framework established by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003.

The commission’s appropriation account is a cash-based record of receipts and payments compared to the estimates provided for the year. The accounting framework is similar to that applied across Government Departments and offices, which present cash-based appropriation accounts for Votes, supported by some accrual-based notes. Funding for the commission is provided for statutorily every three years, with estimates proposed annually to draw down a tranche of the three-year budget. The overall funding approved for the three years 2022 to 2024 amounted to €462 million. By the end of 2024, a total of €461 million had been used. The commission’s account recorded gross expenditure of €167 million in 2024 distributed across the key service areas. Pay-related expenses amounted to approximately 72% of total spending.

Arising from a change in accounting policies across Government Departments and offices, the statement of financial position in note 2 records a substantial increase in accrued expenses. This included an accrual of €8.25 million in respect of termination of employment payments to former secretarial staff that were paid in 2025, following the elections, and an accrual of €4.7 million in respect of substantial accumulated untaken staff leave. The statement on internal financial control outlines the steps being taken by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service to bring untaken leave into line with standard Civil Service guidelines, which generally require a "use or lose" approach.

Payments in respect of the pensions of former Members of the Houses are accounted for in the appropriation account in the form of an annual grant to Ciste Pinsean Thithe an Oireachtais. This grant amounted to €13 million in 2024. A separate account is prepared and presented in respect of the operation of the pension fund.

Further expenditure related to the operation of the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2024 was borne on other accounts. The Leinster House campus, and other premises occupied by the Houses of the Oireachtas, are State-owned and are provided by the Office of Public Works on a rent-free basis. A notional rent for the premises, estimated by the OPW at €5.93 million in 2024, is reported in the commission’s account. Other expenses covered directly by the OPW on a non-recovery basis totalled €1.94 million. This included the costs of maintenance and any capital works carried out on the various buildings and grounds.

Payments from the Central Fund of the Exchequer in 2024 included parliamentary activities allowances paid to political parties and to Independent Members, totalling €9.2 million, and funding for political parties related to their share of the vote in Dáil elections, totalling just under €7.5 million.

The operation of the Oireachtas catering and bar services is accounted for separately from the appropriation account. A summary of the transactions is included as note 7.3 to the account.

I issued a clear audit opinion in respect of the commission’s 2024 account. In my report, I drew attention to two matters disclosed by the Accounting Officer in the statement on internal financial control. First, he disclosed a material level of procurement non-compliance, which was of the order of €1.3 million and, second, an independent review identified weaknesses in the management of a project to build a bicycle shelter on the Oireachtas campus.