Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. McCarthy for his presentation and for his replies to our questions. If any member or group of members wish to have a further discussion with his office, they should contact the secretariat and that can be arranged.

The committee continues from Dáil to Dáil and, therefore, there is a carryover of work from the previous Dáil. It does not have to re-established. I wish to deal with correspondence, reports and statements since the last meeting, which was prior to the election, and our work programmes. Issues relating to the HSE and Console will come under the work programme. If members have queries on correspondence that has been circulated to them, we can defer it and come back to it at a subsequent meeting. The secretariat produces a schedule, which is in the file. For simplicity, we deal with three categories of correspondence. Category A is correspondence and briefing relating to the subject meeting of a particular. We will deal with the OPW next week. Correspondence under this category will deal with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of the OPW, briefing material from the OPW and the Comptroller and Auditor General's office or e-mails from the committee about the topic of the day. We do not have such correspondence today because no external body is appearing before us.

Category B is correspondence from the Accounting Officers or Ministers as a follow-up to a meeting. Regularly, information has to be supplied to us subsequently and we get correspondence which is filed under this category. It is essentially correspondence from departmental sources. Correspondence under both these categories is almost always published on the website.

Category C is correspondence from individuals about different issues and any other correspondence. We decide whether to note it, forward it or investigate it, as the case may be.

No. 5b is a letter of clarification dated 16 February from Mr. Graham Doyle, Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport responding to the previous committee's request for information in respect of the compulsory purchase lands and goodwill payments to the 5,000 farmers who had permitted early access to their land as part of the roads programme. Is it agreed to note that? Agreed.

No. 6b is a letter dated 12 February from Mr. Jim Breslin, Secretary General of the Department of Health, keeping the committee informed of developments in respect to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service pension fund. We can note it and members are free to come back to it again.

No. 8b is a letter dated 23 February from Mr. Mark Griffin, Secretary General of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, providing follow-up information to the committee on two matters relating to Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, and Eircode. The accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General but I was not aware that IFI is a rateable organisation similar to a local authority. This was news to me when I read that. If officials can establish the owner of some grounds where people fish, they can raise a commercial rate. I never knew this and, worryingly, the letter states a rates bill is sent out once a year and if it is not paid, the organisation provides in full for it. It is extraordinary that an organisation would write off unpaid commercial rates. Will the Comptroller and Auditor General forward the most recent audit report for IFI to the secretariat? I would like to come back to this issue because I was shocked to uncover that yesterday and I do not want to let it go. There might be nothing untoward in this but it was news to me and I would like detailed information on this.

No. 12B is a letter from Mr. Ray Mitchell of the HSE, responding to the committee and providing notes re legal advice regarding the ending of a residential care arrangement for an adult and also on training in open disclosure for certain members of staff that related to a particular lady called Grace. The matter was dealt with extensively. People asked what training the staff received in terms of the open disclosure of issues and we can note the reply. If somebody has a personal interest in this matter then he or she should feel free to raise it again.

Nos. 17B, 18B, 19B, 20B and 21B are minutes from the Minister and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. They are responses to previous reports that we did. The reports were on the Bytel project, the wards of court, the fishery harbour centres and a review of costs associated with undelivered capital projects and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. We need to take a bit of time to consider the minutes and I would not just note them today.