Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I want to talk about the general government debt. Obviously a whole lot of things help to define it. It is not just the Department of Finance. I am acutely aware that local authorities, for example, hold several hundred million, for example, in development contributions that they are not permitted to spend because it is obviously keeping a balance in terms of the overall balance of the State's finances. We heard recently from the universities when they were before the committee. For example, there was a purchase by UCC of the IMI, both the company and the assets. We heard from one of the witnesses that a look is being taken at other issues that might come into play as part of the debt that are not currently counted as part of it. First, the Department has to have some controls and that is evident with local authorities but it does not seem to extend to all sectors, for example, the university sector. Does that stand out in any particular way?