Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to address just some of the issues the Deputy raised. He raised quite a number of them.

The funding allocation for the ODCE for 2017 was €4.895 million, with an outturn or expenditure of €3 million. The funding allocation is €5 million for 2018. Therefore, there is a considerable increase. A significant element of the ODCE's annual funding allocation includes a non-pay allocation for possible legal costs. Therefore, there is a reserve for legal costs. These costs and their timing are difficult to forecast as the office cannot be sure of the timing of the cases or their outcome in terms of costs. While it is entirely prudent that provision continue to be made to meet legal costs, there will always be uncertainty over the amount of costs and their timing. Therefore, there is potential for under-expenditure.

The Deputy mentioned the case of Anglo Irish Bank. I agree it was not well handled but, having said that, the current director was not in office at the time. The ODCE has been considerably strengthened since the time in question in terms of funding, staff and the skill mix.

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