Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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-----to both of them. We will thank the board for the letter and follow up those particular points.

No. 2506, is from Moyagh Murdock, chief executive officer of the Road Safety Authority, dated 25 October, providing information regarding the policing by the authority of the foreign registered vehicles working in this State. Two and a half pages of a letter have been provided giving details of inspections. For those who have an interest in this matter, the best thing we can do is note it today and publish it. They may come back to us but we are not experts on the inspections of vehicles, whether they are registered in Ireland or outside the State. A legitimate point was raised with us regarding the regime of inspections. There is a reply there, which we will note and send to the organisation that contacted us on the matter and perhaps we will have further communication from it at a later stage. That is agreed.

No. 2507 is from John McKeon, Secretary General of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, relating to our request for the business case for the public services card. He makes it very clear in his letter there is no single business case document relating to the development of the SAFE identity authentication process for the card. He sets out that the Comptroller and Auditor General covered this in his report three years ago, and it is analysed time by time. The Secretary General will be before us later when we will discuss the public services card. We will note and publish that correspondence and discuss it later.

No. 2508 is from Steven Sheridan of the Housing Agency responding to a request for a list of approved housing bodies, AHBs, registered with the interim regulator. He clarifies the regulator's office operates on a voluntary code and AHBs are signed up to it rather than registered. There are 275 bodies signed up to the code. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is responsible for maintaining the register of all AHBs, of which there are now 551, but we know that 95% of the assets are in the bodies signed up to the code. The information is set out in a link to the website.

No. 2512 is from John McKeon, Secretary General, of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, who will be here shortly, regarding grants paid to travel operators in respect of free travel. That arose from discussion on the matter. We will discuss the public services card and free travel with him. We will note and publish that correspondence and it can be discussed later.

Some category C correspondence has been held over for a little while. No. 2464 is from an individual, dated 14 October, on behalf of a group based in Donegal called the Great Arch action committee, which is requesting the committee to investigate a planning decision by Donegal County Council regarding a proposed pathway to a viewing point for the Pollet Great Arch, Fanad. Local authorities are not within the remit of the committee. We must write back stating that it is not within our remit to examine that matter and directing the group accordingly. It has obviously talked to the local authority, the ombudsman or whoever it believes is the appropriate body but it is not this committee.

No. 2479 is from persons calling themselves B and C, dated 17 October. Members will recall the individuals had previously corresponded with the committee regarding the University of Limerick, UL. The committee was copied with correspondence that was sent to the Minister for Education and Skills. We have had other correspondence relating to UL in recent weeks. While there has been an effort to conduct a mediation in the college it seems it has not reached a successful conclusion. I propose we add these matters relating to third level colleges, including UL, to our work programme. The UL issue seems to be ongoing. We will not get to complete that issue between now and Christmas but we can have it on our work programme for the new year.

No. 2488 is from Deputy Bríd Smith, relating to an inquiry into Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross. At our meeting on 19 September, we noted an update from the HSE that the case is currently with the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, who is addressing some further queries with An Garda Síochána and there was no further information at that time. The HSE is scheduled for a meeting with us on 5 December and we will request an update on this for that meeting. Members will note the matter is with the Garda and the DPP. This committee will not have a role in it but we will get an update on it from the HSE as our meeting with it in a few weeks time.

No. 2490 is from an individual, dated 20 October, who raises some points about the Government's spending policies. The individual raises issues that have been before this committee on several occasions previously. He refers to the cost of providing broadband and the cost of the children's hospital. We will note it and circulate it to members of the committee. It is not for publication but members can take it into consideration. We will not be specifically following it up but it relates to spending of Government money on matters already covered by the committee.

No. 2491 is from Deputy Cullinane, dated 21 October, regarding media allegations that RTÉ is facilitating tax avoidance. Perhaps the Deputy would like to speak on this topic.