Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

9:30 am

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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We will note that item.

The next matter on the agenda is the work programme. Next week, we will commence a series of justice-related meetings. Engagements are confirmed with An Garda Síochána on 31 March, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission on the morning of 7 April and the Policing Authority that same afternoon. It is proposed to have separate speaking rotations for the morning and afternoon of 7 April. Is that agreed? Agreed. We will try to manage that as best we can. It does mean tightening things up a bit but I will try to ensure everybody gets a fair crack. The speaking rota and work programme will be updated next week to reflect that.

There are two non-sitting weeks over Easter, which means our next meeting will be on 28 April with the Department of Justice and the Prison Service. Following that, on 5 May, the meeting with the Department of Finance has been confirmed. As I pointed out earlier, a meeting with the University of Limerick is confirmed for 12 May and I understand the chancellor, as requested, and the president will be in attendance. We await confirmation from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on its availability for a meeting on 19 May. The Department of Health and the HSE have confirmed their availability to appear on 26 May to address a number of issues that are in the public domain.

We had looked to schedule that engagement on 5 May but the earliest date we have free on which both bodies are available is 26 May.

As usual, if there are any specific areas of interest to members that you wish to raise with the bodies on the work programme, please let the clerk know in order that briefing material can be requested in advance and the bodies can bring the relevant information and prepare for the meeting. Unless there are any other matters that members wish to raise in relation to the work programme, that concludes our consideration of the work programme for today.

We now turn to any other business, which is the last item on the public agenda. Do members wish to raise any other matters?