John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)

You are all very welcome to today's meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. Before we proceed, I have a few housekeeping matters to go through. Members are reminded of the provisions within Standing Order 226 that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government, or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House.

The agenda for today is discussion of the accounts and statements; correspondence; and upcoming meetings. We will then suspend the meeting and begin the engagement with officials from the Department of Transport. The minutes of the meeting of 6 November 2025 have been agreed and will be published on the committee's website. The six sets of accounts and financial statements were laid between 3 November and 7 November 2025 and are due to be considered today.

We are joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, who is a permanent witness to the committee. I ask the Comptroller and Auditor General to address the financial statements before opening the floor to members.