Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

I thank the Chair. In the interests of efficiency I will quickly mention the accounts that have been presented. Obviously after a long break over the summer there has been a significant accumulation of accounts. If the schedule is put on screen, members will see it starts with departmental and other funds. The export guarantee account has a clear audit opinion. The credit union fund account has a clear audit opinion. The motor tax account, which had a turnover of €938 million, has a clear audit opinion. The finance accounts, with a turnover of €61.8 billion, also have a clear audit opinion.

In the education sector, the accounts of Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology received a clear audit opinion. Limerick Institute of Technology also received a clear audit opinion. Mary Immaculate College received a clear audit opinion but I draw attention to procurement non-compliance, which is disclosed in the statement on internal financial control.

I also draw attention to the deferred pension funding asset recognition, which is a standard issue for universities and colleges of education. There is a clear audit opinion for the National College of Art and Design but attention is drawn to the deferred pension funding asset. There is a clear audit opinion for the Higher Education Authority. There is a clear audit opinion for Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh, but, again, I drawn attention to procurement non-compliance and deferred pension funding asset. Again, this is standard for universities. There is a clear audit opinion for Institute of Technology Sligo and Athlone Institute of Technology.

The financial statements of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, or Caranua, for 2020 get a clear audit opinion but I draw attention to continued inadequate control over grant payments. I have drawn attention to this matter for a number of years with regard to Caranua. The residential institutions redress special account had a turnover of €1 million in 2020 and gets a clear audit opinion. This is the payment relating to compensation payments made to former residents of residential institutions.

There are two sets of financial statements regarding Home Building Finance Ireland Lending Designated Activity Company, DAC. These relate to 2019 and 2020. The company is a subsidiary of Home Building Finance Ireland and its consolidated financial statements were presented in a timely manner. However, there was an oversight relating to the presentation of the accounts for 2019 for the subsidiary. A clear audit opinion was given in both cases. I will not name all of the NAMA subsidiaries' accounts 17 to 26. There are ten in total. These are the subsidiaries of NAMA. Again, the consolidated accounts were presented earlier.

There is a clear audit opinion for the HSE for 2020. I will not repeat the items to which I drew attention last week when I opened for the HSE accounts examination. There is a clear audit opinion for Tusla, or the Child and Family Agency, but attention is drawn to significant non-compliant procurement and the ICT security breach. It is the same security breach as occurred with regard to the HSE. Because Tusla relies on the HSE, it was affected by the security breach. There is a qualified audit opinion for the National Cancer Registry for 2020. The accounts for the National Cancer Registry are prepared in accordance with FRS 102, which is the standard accrual accounting standard. The accounts give a true and fair view except that they account for the costs of retirement benefit entitlements only as they become payable. This is something that occurs with a number of health bodies. I will draw attention to that in each case.

The National Haemophilia Council gets a clear audit opinion. The Mental Health Commission gets a qualified audit opinion on the same basis I referred to previously. The Irish Blood Transfusion Service gets a clear audit opinion. The Health Products Regulatory Authority gets a qualified audit opinion - again in respect of the accounting for retirement benefits as they become payable. The Medical Council gets a clear audit opinion. The National Treatment Purchase Fund gets a qualified audit opinion on the same basis. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland gets a qualified audit opinion on the same basis. The Health Insurance Authority gets a qualified audit opinion on the same basis. I should point out that in respect of the accounts of the Health Insurance Authority, the turnover was €2.7 million. That relates to its administration costs only. There is a separate account presented with its annual report that relates to the risk equalisation fund and the turnover on that was €771 million. A clear audit opinion was given in respect of that.

On State bodies, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority get a clear audit opinion on its 2020 accounts. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board gets a clear audit opinion. SOLAS, with a turnover of €837 million, gets a clear audit opinion. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment 2020 accounts get a clear audit opinion. The Commission for Communications Regulation accounts for 2019-20 get a clear audit opinion. The National Transport Authority accounts for 2020 get a clear audit opinion but I draw attention to some non-effective expenditure on an ICT project. Enterprise Ireland gets a clear audit opinion. The National Oil Reserves Agency, with a 2020 turnover of €121 million, has a clear audit opinion but I draw attention to ineffective expenditure in note 3, relating to €250,000 incurred in respect of an onerous lease contract. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Adoption Authority of Ireland gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Office of the Planning Regulator gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Economic and Social Research Institute gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which had a turnover of €1.5 billion, gets a clear audit opinion for 2020 but attention is drawn to non-compliance with procurement rules. The Pensions Authority gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Road Safety Authority gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, with a turnover of €136 million, gets a clear audit opinion for 2020. The Gathering Project 2013 is a dormant company but I still have to issue an audit opinion on it, and that was clear. The Residential Tenancies Board gets a clear audit opinion for 2020 but I draw attention to delays and cost increases in the delivery of a new management system for tenancy registrations and disputes that is estimated to cost €5.2 million. IDA Ireland for 2020 has a turnover of €218 million and it got a clear audit opinion. Finally, Waterways Ireland, which is a North-South body that I audit jointly with my counterpart in Northern Ireland, had a turnover of €43 million. This is the 2019 financial statements; there were delays relating to the completion of the financial statements for 2019 but we issued a clear audit opinion in that regard.

I thank the Chairman. My apologies for that taking so long.