Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

I thank our witnesses for being with us this morning. I apologise in advance that I cannot stay for the entire duration of the meeting. I have to speak in the Dáil Chamber so I will have to go.

Mr. Murphy referred to the powers the ECA has. It reviews and makes recommendations but ultimately the European Parliament or the Commission decides. It is good to review. Reviews are important and we should be constantly in a state of review. In terms of the recommendations the ECA would make as part of the review process, what is the onus on the Commission, the Parliament or any individual entity to accept those recommendations? In the event they are not accepted, what power if any does the ECA have? What mechanism does it have to ensure that the recommendations it makes are followed? I have not read them all but I have gone through the reviews. They are definitely comprehensive. The ECA has looked under the bonnet and its recommendations are made on the basis of very good information collected and analysed. What happens then to that and what powers does it have around, I will not use the word “enforcement”, maybe persuasion is a better word? How does it go from recommendation to action? What happens if no action follows?