John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome everyone to today's meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. Before we proceed, I will go through a few housekeeping matters.

Members are reminded of the provision 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 also remind members of the constitutional requirement that, in order to participate in public meetings, members 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.

Today's agenda is to discuss the minutes, accounts and statements and correspondence, as well as to confirm upcoming meetings. We will then suspend the meeting and begin our engagement with officials from Inland Fisheries Ireland. The minutes of the meeting of 27 November 2025 were agreed by the committee and will be published on the committee's website.

Three sets of accounts and financial statements were laid between 24 and 28 November 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 ask him to address these accounts and financial statements before I open the floor to members.