Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I am trying to extrapolate something. There is €4.6 million being spent on the President's Establishment by other Departments and it is not coming from its Vote. In order to examine it, we would have to spend days in having the individual Accounting Officers come and asking them what they are doing in terms of spending on the President's Establishment. By the way, if they are accountable, that is what we will end up doing. People can answer these questions because the money is coming from different Departments. It does not come under the auspices of the President's Establishment at all. For example, the Department of Defence went from spending a sum of €408,000 to €431,000. What was the purpose of the additional expenditure? Was the increase initiated by the Department of Defence or the Office of the President? I think I have put that question in a compact fashion.