Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

If I may respond, I first congratulate the Chair on his appointment as Chair. I look forward to working with him. I congratulate all members on their election. For very many of them, this is their first Dáil. I and my office want to be here to support members in getting to understand and know the public service. I also congratulate those members who have been re-elected and with whom I have worked previously. I very much look forward to continuing the good working relationship with all of them.

I thank members for the words of support for the work of my office. It is important for me to make it clear to the committee that our office is here to support the accountability process. That is really what is necessary. That is the job of the committee and we exist to ensure that it is able to get away from the technical stuff and focus on the delivery and accountability. We want to do anything we can to help the committee to do that within the remit that we have.

We also see ourselves as serving the public bodies because we try to help them by giving them feedback. The existence of a strong committee that holds the feet to the fire and ensures there is accountability is a help to us in our relationship with them. It drives change and stops things from happening that would otherwise be to the detriment of the taxpayer. The deterrent effect is really important. As I said, I look forward to engaging with all members of the committee and supporting them in whatever way we can so that the Committee of Public Accounts of the Thirty-fourth Dáil will be as effective and will add as much value as it can to the delivery of public services in Ireland.