Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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That is fine. No other items of correspondence have been flagged.

The next issue is the work programme. On 7 April, we will continue our series of justice-related meetings with two engagements. We will examine the financial statements of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission that morning and those of the Policing Authority that afternoon. At our meeting last week, we agreed to have separate speaking rotations for each engagement. The speaking rota and work programme have been updated accordingly.

There are two non-sitting weeks over Easter. Our next meeting thereafter will be with representatives of the Department of Justice and the Irish Prison Service on 28 April. With regard to that latter engagement, I suggest that we request an update on the independent review of the voluntary mess committees in Irish prisons and seek clarity as to whether the report of that review can be available to the committee in advance of the engagement. Is that agreed? Agreed. Members might recall we highlighted that issue in our report.

Our engagements for May are as follows. Representatives of the Department of Finance will be before the committee on 5 May. Representatives of the University of Limerick will be before the committee on 12 May. Representatives of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will be before the committee on 19 May. Representatives of the Department of Health and the HSE will attend on 26 May. That meeting will relate to a number of issues that are in the public domain. For the meeting with representatives of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on 19 May, it is open to us to include on the agenda Vote 11 - Office of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Vote 12 - superannuation and retired allowances, Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement and Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Do members wish to include all of the Votes on the agenda for 19 May or would they rather examine any one of those Votes as a separate engagement? Members seem happy enough to address them all at the same time. We examined the Office of Government Procurement separately last year. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer is a new Vote. How do members wish to proceed? Are they happy that we address all of those Votes at the one meeting? I take it they are.

The Accounting Officer for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is also responsible for Vote 15 - secret service, which cannot be examined in any substantive way. It is proposed to exclude that Vote from that agenda. Is that agreed? Agreed. That Vote has to do with State security. As agreed earlier, we will also include the format and content of the appropriation accounts on the agenda for that meeting with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

It was noted at last week's meeting that a response has not been received from Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to the committee's request for further information regarding the closure of the Benefacts database. The Department provided a response yesterday and it will be circulated on Monday for consideration at next week's correspondence meeting. It is also proposed to include the matter on the agenda for our meeting with the Department on 19 May. We felt the Benefacts database was an important matter. Is that agreed? Agreed.

As usual, if there is any specific area of interest to members and which they wish to raise, I ask them to notify the clerk so that briefing material can be requested in advance and the bodies can be prepared to engage on the issues. Are there any other matters that members wish to raise for inclusion on the work programme? There are not. A list of subjects that members have mentioned is attached to the documents before committee members, if they want to review it and come back to future meetings with it. That concludes our consideration of the work programme for today.

The final item on the agenda is any other business. Do any members wish to raise any other matters? If not, we will go into private session before adjourning until 7 April, when we will examine the 2020 financial statements of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the 2020 appropriation accounts of Vote 41 - the Policing Authority.