Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government if he will implement the proposals in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2009 to bring the Dublin Docklands Development Authority under the remit the of the Comptroller and Auditor General and order an immediate investigation into the activities of the former board of that organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22608/10]

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government the dates on which he received the two reports commissioned into the Dublin Docklands Authority Report; when he plans to publish these reports; the reason for the delay in publishing these having regard to statements from his spokesperson in February 2010 that they were expected to be published within a matter of weeks; if his attention has been drawn to a report in a newspaper (details supplied) that records of key DDDA meetings held around the time of the decision to purchase the Irish Glass bottle site have gone missing; if he will confirm this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22507/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

When the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2009 was debated in the House in December 2009 to consider whether to bring the authority within the audit remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General, to allow the Comptroller and Auditor General to undertake special reports into the authority's operations, and to require its CEO to come before the Public Accounts Committee to report on the authority's accounts or any special report undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General, I indicated that I would keep the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General in auditing the authority under review, pending consideration of the findings and recommendations of the corporate governance reviews being undertaken by the authority.

Having regard to the need for proper adherence to due process and fair procedures, I requested the authority to carry out a consultation process with current and former staff and board members to afford them an opportunity to consider and make submissions on the reports involved - that is, the independent Brassil and King reports commissioned by the authority into its planning and financial functions - together with an overview report prepared by the authority's executive board. Following completion of this third-party consultation process, the authority provided the finalised consultancy reports to me on 23 April, while some further revisions to the executive board's report were communicated to me by the authority on 24 May. I have considered the reports' contents and have also submitted them to the Government. In line with my clearly articulated commitment that these reports would, subject to legal advice, be made publicly available, I published the three reports yesterday and arranged for copies to be placed in the Oireachtas Library.

Arising from the comprehensive analysis and conclusions of the review, and acknowledging the view of the authority's board that a further investigation would be required to deal with certain matters, I announced yesterday that the Government had decided to bring the authority within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. This means the DDDA will become subject to Comptroller and Auditor General audit and may also be subject to the preparation of specific reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the efficient use of resources and value for money.

With regard to the matter of certain files and other documentation relating to the purchase of the Irish Glass Bottle site not being properly kept or available within the authority, this is, of course, a serious issue. While I acknowledge that the authority has already implemented many of the corporate governance review recommendations on the keeping of files and records, it is important that the authority addresses any gaps or omissions in its records, and I am confident that it will continue to work urgently to achieve this to the greatest extent possible.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister's change of mind in extending the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General to investigate matters relating to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. I ask the Minister to indicate whether he has been in contact with the Comptroller and Auditor General and whether he is satisfied that he is in a position, based on a statutory instrument, to carry out the type of root-and-branch investigation that is essential for us to get to the root of the problems that exist in the DDDA and the financial ruin that has been the result.

Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient information has been brought to his attention to warrant this change of mind? Will he comment on the expressed view of the chairman of the DDDA that there is no need to investigate the financial aspects of what went on at board level?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I have discussed this matter with the Attorney General, who has advised that the authority can be brought within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General by means of an order to be made by the Minister for Finance. This will move the authority from the second to the first Schedule of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993, alongside the other State bodies that are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is a matter for the Minister for Finance to consider and decide on the timing of any such order. Thereafter, the nature and timing of action by the Comptroller and Auditor General will clearly be a matter for him to determine, having regard to his constitutionally independent role. It is important to emphasise that the Comptroller and Auditor General is an independent office holder, as ought to be the case. It is up to the Committee of Public Accounts to decide how it will use any such report.

There has been no change of mind. I made it clear in the reply to my question that I was at all times keeping this matter under review. Having considered the reports - it must be remembered that I specifically commissioned these reports from the DDDA - I thought it appropriate that the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General be widened to consider these matters. I am glad to hear the Deputy has welcomed the decision. There are times when a Minister actually follows through on a course of action and, when it is the right course of action, it is only right that it be welcomed.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I will call Deputy Tuffy in a second, but I wish to allow Deputy Hogan to follow through on his question.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Obviously I welcome the decision made by the Minister to expand the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General to include the DDDA, as was provided for in a Bill from Fine Gael that he himself voted down last December. I am not a total hypocrite, as some other people might be.

On 22 December 2009, the Minister wrote to the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts to explain how he could not, arising from a Supreme Court case, implement any statutory instrument or ministerial order but would require primary legislation to implement this function. What I do not want to see happening, now that we have decided to go down the proper road, is for the Comptroller and Auditor General to be frustrated in carrying out a proper investigation without primary legislation. Will the Minister be in contact with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Minister for Finance to have this order put in place as quickly as possible?

What other reports has the Minister sought? In particular, in August 2009 he sought a report from the chairman of the DDDA, Professor Brennan, on corporate governance issues and board matters. This was expected to be completed by October 2009. Did he receive that report, and will he be publishing it?

What is the status of the Moylan report, which the Minister also commissioned? When will that be published?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Yesterday, we had the Brassil report and the King report, the former dealing with planning issues and the latter with financial accountability and corporate governance. The Deputy also referred to the Moylan report. That is an internal report which was forwarded to my Department as a matter of courtesy. I indicated yesterday when I was questioned by RTE that I have no difficulty with that report also being made public.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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What about the report on corporate governance?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I already referred to that.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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My question relates to the advice the Minister says he received from the Attorney General that the Dublin Docklands Development Authority could be brought under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General by way of ministerial order. However, the Minister wrote to Deputy Allen, Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, last September indicating that amendment of primary legislation is a matter for the Dáil and that amending legislation was required in this instance. The Minister for Finance had already written to Deputy Allen in July 2009 to state that since 2005, the powers under section 21 of the 1993 Act to amend the Schedules to that Act had not been available to the Minister. He explained that this arose from a Supreme Court judgment which found that delegated legislation cannot make, repeal or amend any law and to the extent that the parent Act purports to confer such a power, it will be invalid having regard to the provisions of the Constitution. That statement is black and white and there was no qualification of it by the Minister for Finance or by the Minister, Deputy Gormley's, subsequent letter.

There are other issues that arise in terms of the ability of the Comptroller and Auditor General to require that special reports are carried out, as the Minister mentioned earlier. If the Minister were to introduce legislation - which, according to him and to the Minister for Finance less than a year ago, is the correct way to proceed - that legislation would have to do much more than merely bring the DDDA within the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General. If the DDDA is merely added to the Schedule of the existing Act, the Comptroller and Auditor General will only be able to look at the DDDA into the future; he will not be able to examine retrospectively past decisions of the authority. That is the legal advice received by the Labour Party. In the case of the DIRT inquiry, for example, it was necessary to ensure the legislation enabled the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts to examine the banks' past treatment of bogus non-resident accounts. The same must apply to the DDDA if precedent is anything to go by. Does the Minister have any advice in that regard?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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That is not the advice I have received from the Attorney General and it would not make sense if it were so. I have been informed that the remit is to be extended so that the Comptroller and Auditor General can look at the issues that were raised in the two reports. I have already outlined the advice we received from the Attorney General, namely, that the authority can be brought within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General and that the order to that effect can be made by the Minister for Finance. It is for the latter to decide when that will be done but I hope it will be soon.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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We are seeing a total turnaround by the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and the Minister for Finance. In September 2009, the Minister, Deputy Gormley, indicated that legislation would be required and that a ministerial order would not be sufficient. Last July, the Minister for Finance said that amending legislation would be required. In the case of the DIRT inquiry, special legislation was required so that the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General could review past decisions. What advice did the Minister receive last September and on what advice was the Minister for Finance acting when he wrote to Deputy Allen in July 2009? Is it different advice from what the Minister received yesterday?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I have met briefly with the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts and he welcomed my decision on this matter. As the Minister with responsibility for the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, I am most anxious that we have total openness and transparency in these matters. The DDDA is getting on with the important work it is doing and has made a major contribution to the development of this city. It is important that we draw a line under these issues and the best way to do that is by ensuring there is openness and transparency. I will not be wanting in this regard and anything that is required for such an investigation will be given.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I will allow a brief supplementary question from each Deputy.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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We would have been further on if the Minister had agreed to go down this road in December.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Deputy knows the reason I did not; I had not received the reports at that time.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Minister certainly was not given good advice if the letter to which Deputy Tuffy and I referred is an indication. Now he tells us he has received different advice. We are not making this up as we go along; we have been consistent on this issue.

Will the Minister indicate whether he received a response to his Department's letter in August 2009 to Professor Niamh Brennan, chairperson of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, on corporate governance matters and board matters? That response was to be received in October 2009 - if it was received, what was its import? When will the Minister publish the Moylan report? Has he sought a report at any stage from the departmental representative on the board of the DDDA about what was going on there? What is the estimated taxpayers' liability arising from this irresponsible mess and the decisions that were made over the years?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Obviously, I have spoken to the departmental representatives on the board of the DDDA. I already answered the Deputy's question about the Moylan report. I have no difficulty at all in publishing that report, which was sent to me as a matter of courtesy. It is the property of the DDDA but, as I said, I am in favour of its publication. However, these reports have been cited in newspaper articles as offering explosive information. I said previously that this is not the case and I was proved right in that regard. On the question of liability, the chairperson spoke yesterday at length about this. The loans have been taken into NAMA and the authority has been asked to produce a business plan by the end of July. It is only after rigorous examination and total engagement with NAMA that we will know what is the outstanding liability.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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I refer again to the use of a ministerial order to bring the authority within the control of the Comptroller and Auditor General. If we are going to do this, it must be done right. Will the Minister consider publishing the Attorney General's advice, setting out why the latter considers that only a ministerial order is required, presumably in contradiction to the advice the Minister must have received at the time he and the Minister for Finance wrote to Deputy Allen to indicate that such an order would not be sufficient?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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We do not publish advice from the Attorney General but I have received that advice and discussed it with him. I assume the Deputy is pleased with the outcome and that the issue is now being advanced. I have not yet had the opportunity to talk directly to the Minister for Finance about this but, as I said, I hope we can make progress as quickly as possible.