Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 25 October 2018

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

9:00 am

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. That is what has happened for 14 consecutive years. It is not going to continue. Somebody has to call a halt. I am saying to the Department of Education and Skills that the Office of the Chief State Solicitor or whichever State body has responsibility is not getting the business done from a legal perspective. I do not want to have to bring Mr. Ó Foghlú back before the committee to deal with this matter. We will have to do so, however, if this keeps happening. I do not intend to do it at this stage. We will accept these current deadlines but we want to know why Mr. Ó Foghlú provided the original deadlines, why these were not me and how confident he is in the context of the new deadlines. If Mr. Ó Foghlú does not meet his new deadlines, he will be explaining why on a case-by-case basis. I am sorry for going on about this but if the committee is to be thorough in its work, that is the nitty-gritty end of the business we have to do in order to send a signal.

In the future, we will not accept letters containing commitments if we can identify, with the passage of time, a failure to honour previous commitments.

No. 1664B is correspondence from Mr. Jim McGlynn, director of organisation support and development, Donegal ETB, dated 17 October 2018, providing information requested by the committee regarding a payment made to the Revenue Commissioners on foot of an underpayment of PRSI in the period 1997 to 2011. We will note and publish this.

No. 1666B is correspondence from Mr. Ray Mitchell, assistant national director, HSE, dated 18 October 2018, in response to two requests from the committee for information on the direct and indirect costs of the Portlaoise review group and the charging of residents for incontinence wear at the Brothers of Charity Services in Roscommon. On the cost of the Portlaoise review group, the HSE confirmed the legal fees.