Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

Apart from being an Accounting Officer, I am head of the paying agency at EU level. We get funding directly from the EU of €1.2 billion a year that goes into direct payments. We have our account audited by an independent auditor and we are accountable to the EU for that expenditure. There was a time we had a composite account that helped to fold that independently. This is not funding voted by the Oireachtas so it does not come before this House for approval, but there was a time when we had a composite account that showed how it was spent. A couple of years ago, and the Comptroller and Auditor General did a very good report on it, we concluded we would deal with it by way of a note. These funds are audited every year.