Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This group of amendments relates to provisions in the Bill concerning accounts and audit. They were developed in consultation with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Amendments Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, to section 29 reflect the changes that have occurred in financial terminology since the enactment of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993. The amendment removes references to "balance sheets" and a "profit and loss account" as these terms have been replaced with "statements of financial position" and "income and expenditure account", respectively. Amendment No. 9 amends section 60 by deleting section 17(2)(f) of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993, which provides for the appointment of a commercial auditor to the IAA.

Amendment No. 11 amends section 66, which covers the accounts and audit of the IAA. The amendment specifies that the financial statements of the IAA will be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It also removes references to balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and cash flow statements to reflect changes in financial terminology. The sections 30(3) and 30(4) proposed in the amendment provide that, in limited circumstances, a subsidiary of the IAA could be audited by a commercial statutory audit firm rather than by the Comptroller and Auditor General. This is subject to the approval of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, following consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Amendment No. 18 relates to the final accounts and final annual report of the Commission for Aviation Regulation. The purpose of this amendment is to reduce from 12 months to three months after the dissolution of the commission the time period in which the IAA must submit final accounts for the Commission for Aviation Regulation to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit.

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