Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee and for their opening statements and briefing documents attached.

I will begin on a very generalised issue. It is a gargantuan budget and it always seems to be spiralling. We know we are heading to a €1.2 billion overrun again this year. From the point of view of the body within the Oireachtas that is supposed to have oversight of public funding, it is well acknowledged that between HSE service plans and financial statements, Vote 38, and all these different spending classifications, it is very difficult for anybody outside the organisation - and I suspect within the organisation - to have a clear grip on the funding, budgeting and the control of spending in an organisation that is one of the largest spenders of public money in the State; probably the largest. Does Mr. Mulvany have any active and specific plans to streamline how that reporting process happens so that bodies like the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General can have a clearer view of the spending that is happening with in the Department?