Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh. On 7 May last, the Government agreed in principle to the recommendation of the expert advisory committee which conducted the review of the governance and culture of RTÉ to assign the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ. The Minister Deputy Catherine Martin, in a statement accompanying the publication of the expert advisory committee review, confirmed she would begin work immediately to implement the recommendations which require action by her Department. As part of this, she set out her intention to prepare and bring detailed proposals to Government to reform the legislation governing RTÉ, including to assign the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ.

The reassignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General requires legislative amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009. It also requires a significant amendment to the Comptroller and Auditor (Amendment) Act 1993, which I can make by ministerial order or directly through primary legislation. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is working to establish the most effective means to implement this recommendation. I understand the Minister will bring forward the general scheme of a Bill in autumn to give effect to this and other legislative recommendations of the review.

In relation to commercial State bodies in general, Deputy Conway-Walsh is aware that section 1438 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that companies not trading for the gain of their members may be audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, while only regulated private sector audit firms can act as statutory auditors for companies, including public enterprises, that have been set up for commercial gain under the Companies Acts. The extension of the Comptroller and Auditor General's remit to audit commercial public bodies that have other audit arrangements in place needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis by each Minister. Following such a review, if he or she considers it appropriate, a Minister can bring the body under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General in the way I have indicated.

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