Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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As usual, the listing of accounts and financial statements will be published as part of our minutes.

The next item is correspondence. As previously agreed, items that have not been flagged for discussion for this meeting will continue to be dealt with in accordance with the proposed actions that have been circulated and decisions taken by the committee in relation to correspondence will be recorded in the minutes of the committee meetings and published on the committee's web page. Eight items of correspondence have been flagged under category B, which is correspondence from Accounting Officers or Ministers or both, relating to follow-up to meetings of the Committee of Public Accounts.

No. 910B is correspondence from Mr. Bernard Gloster, chief executive of Tusla, dated 22 November, which provides further information requested at our committee meeting with Tusla on 21 October. We held this item over from last week's meeting because it was flagged by Deputy Catherine Murphy, who was not in attendance due to commitments in the Dáil. This is a comprehensive response to 22 requests for information arising from that meeting, including a number of supporting documents. Is it agreed that we note and publish the item? Agreed.

No. 922B is correspondence from Mr. John McKeon, Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection, with whom we engaged this morning. It is dated 25 November this year and provides information requested by the committee regarding the Department's investigations into contractors engaged by RTÉ. The Secretary General states that due to the scale of the investigation, it is not possible to provide a specific timeline for its completion but it could continue into 2023. While the Department is receiving good co-operation from RTÉ, this investigation is being conducted alongside all other employment status investigations in other sectors. The Secretary General goes on to detail the appeals process for such investigations. Is it agreed that we note and publish this item of correspondence? Agreed.

This has been flagged by me and Deputy Catherine Murphy. I do not want to retrace this morning's steps but we followed up on the issue with Mr. McKeon and there are a number of questions there. I suggest that we write to the Secretary General and ask to be kept informed of developments with that investigation. It is a serious matter. It seems to be of significant scale. He refers in the letter to the scale of the investigation, so it is presumably very widespread or large. We will ask to be kept apprised of the different developments and any significant findings on an ongoing basis. Is that agreed? Agreed.

No. 927B is also from Mr. John McKeon, Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection. It is dated 26 November 2021 and provides information requested by the committee regarding non-compliant procurement. This and the next five items of correspondence are examples of responses to the requests we issue to bodies where the Comptroller and Auditor General has drawn attention to material instances of non-compliant procurement. In 2020, the Department of Social Protection did not comply with procurement guidelines in relation to 92 contracts. The Secretary General has asked that due to the commercial sensitivity of the contract value information it be treated in confidence so I ask members to bear that in mind. We will note and publish this item, which was flagged for discussion by Deputy Catherine Murphy.

No. 932B is correspondence from Ms Oonagh McPhillips, Secretary General of the Department of Justice, dated 29 November 2021, also providing information requested by the committee regarding non-compliant procurement. The explanations provided in relation to the Prison Service’s non-compliant procurement are less informative. While I welcome the fact that contracts are now in place in 11 of the 16 cases referred to, it is proposed to request further details on the reasons for each instance of non-compliance with procurement guidelines in the Prison Service. This item was also flagged by Deputy Catherine Murphy but I do not think she is present.

No. 937B is from Ms Jacqui McCrum, Secretary General of the Department of Defence, dated 29 November 2021. It is a detailed response to the committee’s request for information on non-compliant procurement. It is proposed to note and publish this item. Is that agreed? Agreed. This item was flagged for discussion by Deputy Catherine Murphy. There is a short letter and a table giving more details.

No. 939B is from Mr. Fergal Lynch, Secretary General of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, dated 29 November 2021. The non-compliant procurement for the Department in 2020 totalled over €91 million. With the exception of two, this concerned contracts that moved to the Department as part of the transfer of functions from the Department of Justice that occurred in 2020. All 151 of these contracts related to the provision of accommodation services for international protection applicants. Is it agreed that we note and publish this item? It was flagged for discussion by Deputy Matt Carthy.