Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are still managing Covid spending, as it is, so we have not made any separate decision to do a look back at what happened over the course of the period since March. I am sure it will be done on an ongoing basis. Our priority for now is budget 2021, and Covid is a core part of that in making sure we have adequate provision in the areas the committee has spoken about, especially health. That is a real challenge. At the moment our focus is on trying to make the right decisions in the context of budget 2021. There will be an Appropriation Act later this year to confirm the outturn and spending for the period of 2020. In the normal course of events the Comptroller and Auditor General will look at individual Votes and spending across Departments. I am sure there will be a particular focus on exceptional expenditure and where decisions had to be made in very short timeframes. I imagine this will be done in the normal way. The Committee of Public Accounts will also examine the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports on expenditure in 2020. It is important to put that on the record also.