Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

In a way, the reason I undertook the special report on the timeliness of the presentation of the financial statements was exactly that. I was concerned, particularly in the education sector, that there was a drift and no way of accelerating it. It is almost too late by the time it gets here and the committee identifies that there is a problem. I needed a vehicle to get it on the agenda. The fact that I produced the first report and the committee took it so seriously has resulted in a speeding up of the process. I have another report on the 2015 accounts, which is ready for publication. I have asked whether publication can be expedited in order that it is published before the education and training boards are due to come before the committee in November. That will allow the committee to have a look at the overall timeliness of that particular sector because there has been a problem, and also the third level sector, which the committee dealt with in April and May of this year. I anticipate we will do a further report on the timeliness of the presentation of the 2016 accounts. This means the committee will get the big picture rather than looking at individual ones, and that is important.