Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 16 October 2025
Public Accounts Committee
Business of Committee
2:00 am
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Members are all very welcome to today's meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. Before we proceed, I have a few housekeeping matters to go through. Members are reminded of the provisions within Standing Order 226 that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official, either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House.
The agenda for today is to discuss the accounts and statements and, second, the correspondence and, third, upcoming meetings. We will then suspend and begin the engagement with officials from the Health Service Executive, hopefully at 10.30 a.m.
Seven sets of accounts and financial statements were laid between 6 and 10 October 2025 and are due to be considered today. We are joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, who is a permanent witness to the committee. I will ask him to address these before opening the floor to members.
Mr. Seamus McCarthy:
First we have the Commission for Regulation of Utilities for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion.
Next, we had the financial statements of Teilifís na Gaeilge for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion.
No. 3 is the financial statements of the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion.
No. 4 is the financial statements of the Land Development Agency for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion, but I drew attention to an undue payment of €420,000 made to an existing supplier due to human error, which was subsequently recovered. I also drew attention to a material level of procurement non-compliance.
No. 5 is the financial statements of An Bord Pleanála for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion.
No. 6 is the financial statements of the Kerry Education and Training Board for 2024. It received a clear audit opinion.
No. 7 is the financial statements of the Social Insurance Fund for 2024. These also received a clear audit opinion. I drew attention to a number of chapters in my annual Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2024, in which chapters 16, 17, 18 and 24 all relate to matters concerning the Social Insurance Fund. I imagine the committee will wish to examine that in due course.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas le Mr. McCarthy. Do members wish to comment? When referring to the work programme, I noted that the misclassification of workers, covered by No. 7, which is on the Social Insurance Fund, is one to which the committee will return.
Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Attention was drawn to non-compliance by the LDA on the procurement side of things. I note that in the explanatory note it is to carry out a review this year. Could we seek an update after that review? Would that be appropriate?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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We will ask the clerk of the committee to send correspondence seeking the outcome of the review. Are there any other items? Could we agree to note the listing of accounts and financial statements?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Before we agree, I want to make the point about next week that other people will want to come in.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, it will be dealt with further on. Could we agree to note the listing of accounts and financial statements? Agreed. They will be published as part of our minutes.
We will now consider items of correspondence that have been received from Accounting Officers in Government bodies. These items were received between 26 September and 14 October 2025. The committee has agreed to note and publish the following items: No. R0289 is correspondence received from the Chairman of the Office of Public Works, dated 26 September 2025, providing an update to the committee. We agreed to note and publish that but the committee reserves the right to return to that item.
No. R0303 is correspondence received from the chief executive of The Digital Hub, dated 7 October 2025. No. R0304 is correspondence received from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport dated 9 October 2025, informing the committee of a delay in the laying of accounts for TG4.
No. R0305 is correspondence received from Mr. John Coleman, chief executive officer, PSM governance and policy unit of the Land Development Agency, dated 9 October 2025.
No. R0309 is correspondence received from Mr. David Gunning, chief officer of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, dated 14 October 2025.
No. R0310 is correspondence received from Ms Anne Coyle, chief executive officer of Beaumont Hospital. The committee has agreed to note and publish those items? Is that agreed? Agreed.
The committee has scheduled the following meetings. On Thursday, 23 October 2025 there will be no Dáil session, although the committee has agreed to proceed with our meeting on that Thursday morning. That decision was made earlier in the meeting. The meeting is with the Department of justice.
On 6 November we will meet Uisce Éireann. On 13 November we will meet the Office of Public Works. On 20 November we will meet the Peter McVerry Trust, the Charities Regulator and additional witnesses, including former chief executive officers of the trust. On 27 November we will meet Inland Fisheries Ireland. On 4 December we will meet the Department of Transport. On 11 December we will meet Revenue. On 18 December we will meet the Department of Social Protection. The dates are to be confirmed. We will give the secretariat discretion to move meetings between dates where that is required. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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I have asked, repeatedly, for the NTA to be put on the programme. Could I get an update on if and when we are likely to see the NTA being put on the work programme?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.
While we were in private session, we had a discussion around the work programme. We have agreed, for the slots in the early January, that we will be able to schedule additional meetings. At the next work programme meeting, we can discuss including the NTA.
Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I apologise, I was at the children's committee.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy was at a different committee. She assisted us with the quorum, so we appreciated that. Are there any other items the committee wishes to discuss? No. We will now suspend for five minutes or less to allow the clerk to bring in our witnesses.