Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a pity the Minister of State is not accepting the amendments, particularly in the light of how subsidiaries and organisations that have received State funding, albeit not always directly but through a State agency, have in the past avoided accounting in full for how funding was spent. I accept that the intention is that all of the companies are to be audited under the standard rules, but during the years, at the Committee of Public Accounts in particular, not only in this term but in every other term also, these standards have not been achieved in some organisations, while in others they have only been achieved somewhat. Some companies are very willing and able to account for very last cent they spend. Allowing companies involved in medical spending or spending any public funds to be one step removed does not add to the intention that all State companies and their subsidiaries will be open to scrutiny, if required by the Comptroller and Auditor General, in particular, but also by the Houses of the Oireachtas which passes the Votes to meet the expenses of these organisations via the HSE, Children's Health Ireland or some other mechanism.

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