David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to extend the power of the Comptroller and Auditor General to inspect the accounts, books and records of persons in receipt of public funds, and to provide for connected matters.

The purpose of the Bill is to provide the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General with the power to audit any public moneys spent by an organisation, regardless of the amount. It is very important that the State's public auditor is able to chase taxpayers' money wherever it is spent. The Bill will not confer an obligation on the Comptroller and Auditor General to audit the accounts of those organisations, rather it allows his or her office to establish, where necessary, that the money was spent for the appropriate purposes.

Over the past 20 years, we have seen a massive expansion of Government funding for non-governmental agencies, especially in the health and education sectors. Billions of euro are spent every year on section 38 and section 39 organisations and we have seen a litany of scandals. While the vast majority of organisations have not been the subject of scandals and are very good at spending taxpayers' money, a small percentage of them have presented real difficulties. Our position is that if people in the private sector want to act the bowsie with their own money, it is a matter for them, not the State. If, however, organisations are misusing public money, even where their public funding component is below 50%, the State's public auditor should be able to chase the money. That is not the case at present.

The Bill allows the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General to follow public money only where it is provided to a public or private organisation. It does not mean he or she would be able to examine the way private money is spent but if any public money is spent, the office would be allowed to do so. In the spirit of accountability and transparency and at a time when we have had so many scandals in relation to the spending of public money, this would be a useful tool and power for the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General to have.

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