Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for Finance if the recommendation of the Deloitte report into the €3.6 billion accounting error to transfer sole responsibility for the compilation of statistics and information on the Government deficit to the Central Statistics Office will be implemented; and if so, if a timescale will be indicated. [33647/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deloitte Report into the error was finalised earlier this year and published on 7th June. A key overarching recommendation was the establishment of a Governance Group to inter alia oversee the implementation of the recommendations arising from the Report. This Group has considered the recommendations, including the recommendation that overall responsibility for the General Government Debt (GGD) compilation and reporting processes should be centralised in one organisation. In response to this it has been agreed by my Department and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that the primary responsibility for this is to be transferred to CSO. Given the complex nature of the processes and the amount of work involved in the compilation of the necessary data, it is envisaged that CSO will take over primary responsibility for the Excessive Deficit Procedure Returns required under the Maastricht Treaty for the transmission due in March 2013.