Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 23 May 2013

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

10:00 am

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Item No.1 is the minutes of the meeting of 16 May 2013. Are the minutes agreed to? Agreed. The committee needs to dispose of Vote 20 and Chapter 26 which were the subject of last week's meeting. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We will now deal with correspondence received since the meeting of Thursday, 16 May. Item No. 3A is correspondence received from Accounting Officers. Item No 3A.1 is correspondence, dated 15 May 2013, from Mr. Aidan Dunning, Secretary General, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, providing additional information requested at our meeting on 18 April. The correspondence is to be noted and published.

Item No. 3A.2 is correspondence, dated 22 May 2013, from Ms Josephine Feehily, chairperson of the Revenue Commissioners, providing additional information requested at our meeting on 9 May 2013. The correspondence is to be noted and published. It relates to the rate of corporation tax, an issue members may want to consider.

Item 3B is individual correspondence. Item No. 3B.1 is correspondence, dated 13 May 2013, from Sean Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills, on the cost of VEC legal services and procurement. The correspondence is to be noted and published.

This correspondence raises a number of issues about the procurement without competitive tender of legal services by VECs and the broad issue can be raised today with the National Procurement Service.

No. 3B.2 is correspondence dated 13 May 2013 from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, re information previously requested regarding apprenticeship training provision in the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. That is to be noted and a copy forwarded to Mr. Brady, the original complainant.

No. 3B.3 is correspondence dated 16 May 2013 from Ms Clare McGrath, chairperson of the Office of Public Works. It provided information previously requested regarding the cost of the provision of a suite of offices for a Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in 2007. That is to be noted and published. Members sought this correspondence at a previous meeting.

No. 3B.4 is correspondence dated 15 May 2013 from Ms Brenda Farrell re a new school building for a gaelscoil in Arklow. That is to be noted and forwarded to the Department of Education and Skills for a note on the issues raised.

No. 3B.5 is correspondence dated 16 May 2013 from Mr. John Murphy, Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, re the cost of offices for a Minister of State in 2007. That is to be noted and published. This correspondence should be considered alongside No. 3B.3.