Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Obviously I welcome the decision made by the Minister to expand the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General to include the DDDA, as was provided for in a Bill from Fine Gael that he himself voted down last December. I am not a total hypocrite, as some other people might be.

On 22 December 2009, the Minister wrote to the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts to explain how he could not, arising from a Supreme Court case, implement any statutory instrument or ministerial order but would require primary legislation to implement this function. What I do not want to see happening, now that we have decided to go down the proper road, is for the Comptroller and Auditor General to be frustrated in carrying out a proper investigation without primary legislation. Will the Minister be in contact with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Minister for Finance to have this order put in place as quickly as possible?

What other reports has the Minister sought? In particular, in August 2009 he sought a report from the chairman of the DDDA, Professor Brennan, on corporate governance issues and board matters. This was expected to be completed by October 2009. Did he receive that report, and will he be publishing it?

What is the status of the Moylan report, which the Minister also commissioned? When will that be published?

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