Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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The next items of correspondence are Nos. 671A (i) to 671A (iii), inclusive. No. 671A is a covering email from the Garda Commissioner enclosing the interim report and the second interim report into the examination of the recording of breath tests. That is the matter to which I have just referred and we will await the final report and will deal with the issue then. In the meantime we can discuss the interim reports we have received. We will note and publish them.

Category B correspondence refers to correspondence from Accounting Officers and Ministers and follow-ups to previous meetings. Nos. 681B (i) to 681B (vi), inclusive, are items of correspondence received on 10 July from Joe Nugent, chief administrative officer in An Garda Síochána. It includes a briefing note on Garda College income and expenditure, a Garda College restaurant profit-and-loss analytical review for 2009 to 2016, an analysis of expenditure for the Garda College division 2009 to 2016, a note in respect of Garda College restaurant funds transfers from 2010 to 2016, a note on correspondence relating to a previous voluntary disclosure settled with the Revenue Commissioners in 2010 and a note on an audit of EU-funded projects. We will note those documents and they will be considered as part of our report, which we will launch next Tuesday.

The next items are Nos. 686 B, 690 B (i) and 690B (ii), correspondence from the HSE dated 11 July with follow-up information requested following the meeting of 15 June including further information requested by the committee in respect of the Grace case and data for 2017 in respect of patient referrals to hospital emergency departments by GPs.

In respect of that letter from the HSE, all I can say is "here we go again". We were promised the Deloitte report time and time again and now we have been told it will be provided at some point after the summer break. The letter goes on to say that the State Claims Agency:

has confirmed that the final bill of costs relating to this specific case has not reached a final conclusion. However, the [State Claims Agency] has clarified that interim payments totalling €185,984.20 (which excludes settlement costs as per the High Court agreement) have been made.

That is the only figure we have actually received and it excludes the High Court settlement costs. We still have not seen the Deloitte report. Mr. Tony O'Brien says that he will seek the permission of the commission of investigation to give us a copy when he receives it. We will not get into a big debate. We will send this letter to the commission but we are still gravely disappointed at this delay.