Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. McCarthy. We will move on to item No. 3, correspondence. As previously agreed, items that are not 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 are recorded in the minutes of the committee’s meetings and published on the committee’s web page.

The first category of correspondence under which members have flagged items for discussion is correspondence from Accounting Officers and follow-up to committee meetings. The following item was held over from our last meeting. No. R1824 B is from Ms Sorcha Fitzpatrick, chief superintendent, An Garda Síochána, dated 25 March 2023. It provides information that the Committee of Public Accounts requested regarding non-compliant procurement. Deputy Catherine Murphy sent her apologies this afternoon and has requested that we hold over No. R1824 B for a further week. If members are agreeable, we can do that. This item has already been held over a couple of times. I propose that we will deal with it next week, one way or the other. Members have the piece of correspondence, No. R1824 B. Any member may comment on it. If members have had the opportunity to read it, they will see attached to it a list of the items that did not comply with procurement rules. If no member wishes to comment on it, we will hold it over until next week. Is that agreed? Agreed.

There is a proposal from me that will be considered in private session. That concludes correspondence for this week.

I will move to the work programme. At our next meeting on 4 May, we will engage with representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to examine its appropriation accounts and the 2021 financial statements of fishery harbour centres.

On 11 May, we will engage with representatives of the HSE and the Department of Health in respect of the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report on the emergency procurement of ventilators for the HSE and the HSE's 2021 financial statements.

On 18 May, we will engage with representatives of the University of Limerick, UL, on its 2021 financial statements. There is another issue to be discussed with UL.

On 25 May, we will engage with representatives of the Department of Justice to examine its appropriation accounts for 2021.

At our meeting last week, we agreed to arrange a meeting with representatives of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on 1 June. The secretariat is working on making the arrangements for that meeting.

Does any member wish to raise any other matter in respect of the work programme? No. I remind members, particularly the newer members, to keep an eye on what is coming up on 4, 11 and 18 May. If there is a particular area that members feel they want to flag with the different bodies that are due to come before the committee, that is, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the HSE and the Department of Health, and UL, I ask them to send an email to the secretariat to notify the issue. There may be an issue of particular interest to committee members that they wish to raise. Such an issue may not be at the front of members' minds now but may occur to them in the coming days. The opportunity is there and I encourage members to take it.

I will ask for the indulgence of members for a moment in respect of the work programme and an issue I raised previously, at which time there was some reason we held back. Irish Water was not previously accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts. We are hoping to have its representatives before the committee but there is some piece of work that the Comptroller and Auditor General's office has to do in that regard. Is that correct?