Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 February 2018

Public Accounts Committee

2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Dormant Accounts Fund

9:00 am

Mr. Kevin McCarthy:

I will ask my colleague from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to comment on the specific project. By way of a general comment however, one of the reasons for underspend that we have noticed is that action plans identify measures that are at a very early stage of conception. It is probably part of the nature of the scheme itself; one of its principles is that it should support additional measures to what is supported by the Department Vote. There has been a tendency towards identifying things that are new and innovative, perhaps pathfinder projects. That in turn has led to a natural lead-in time before a project can get off the ground.