Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On Committee Stage, I indicated that further consideration was needed on the best way to deal with accounting for the current year where part of 2013 will relate to the time of the VECs and the remainder of the year will relate to the new bodies.

The purpose of amendment No. 7 is to amend the accounts provision so that the 1 April date for submission of accounts each year to the Comptroller and Auditor General may be varied by the Minister. This is likely to be of most importance in the first year where an ETB must submit the final accounts of each of the former VECs preceding it not later than the same time as it submits the first set of accounts of the ETB. Given that they may have a number of sets of accounts to file in their first year, this amendment will ease any unnecessary pressure on the new bodies created by a 1 April deadline.

Amendment No. 6 is a drafting amendment and replaces the words "financial year" with "accounting period" to ensure there is consistency throughout section 51.

The purpose of amendment No. 8 is to ensure that education and training boards are required to submit to the Comptroller and Auditor General any accounts that are outstanding at the time a VEC's dissolution. Once those accounts have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the education and training board will be responsible in presenting them and the auditor's report to the Minister. The Minister then arranges for them to be laid before the Houses in the normal way. This will ensure that there is no gap in the obligation to file and lay accounts which might otherwise occur as a result of the transition from VECs to ETBs.