Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 27 June 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts

1:00 pm

Ms Geraldine Tallon:

I expect they will come in now that the rulings are being made - since summer 2012. With regard to whether one can ask for them to be sent in quickly, I understand that once a ruling on eligibility is made, there is a period of six years within which people are entitled to make their claims. I wondered whether we could impose a time limit, but was told "No" that a period of six years is allowed. I might be taking a flyer on this, but I would tend to say that the longer people delay sending in bills, the more sceptical the State should be when the bill finally comes.