Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

As I mentioned on Committee Stage, I appreciate Senator Quinn's concerns and I understand the thinking behind amendment No. 28. I agree that best practice dictates that annual reports and accounts should be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas without delay upon completion of the audit. I do not accept, however, that the timeframe proposed in this amendment would necessarily achieve such an end result. The proposed date, 30 April, might not allow sufficient time after the end of the financial year for the authority to have prepared its accounts and for the Comptroller and Auditor General to have completed its audit. As such, I do not propose to accept amendment No. 28 as tabled.

I propose, however, to accept amendments Nos. 27 and 84 which will amend sections 37(4) and 109(4) to specify that the accounts and the report of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, RTE and TG4 must be presented to the Minister as soon as may be but not later than six months after the end of the financial year to which they relate. The purpose of this amendment is to assure that the Oireachtas will see the accounts concerned within a reasonable timeframe which was a fundamental concern articulated by the Senator during Committee Stage.