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1996 ANNUAL REPORT1. BACKGROUND1.1The Committee of Public Accounts was set up under the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866. When the Irish Free State came into existence in 1922 it continued the pre-existing Government accounting conventions and accordingly an Irish Committee of Public Accounts was established similar in size and remit to that of the British House of Commons Committee. It has been an important features of Dáil Éireann since then. 1.2The Committee consists of twelve Members of Dáil Éireann and the Chairperson has traditionally been elected from the main opposition party. A list of Chairpersons is published in the Appendix hereto. 1.3Under Dáil Standing Order 146, the Committee is required to pursuant an annual progress report to Dáil Éireann on its activities and plans. The 1996 Annual Report covers the Committee’s investigation into the annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C & AG) on the Appropriation Accounts 1994 and other matters, and relates to the period from 14 October 1995 to 10 October 1996. 1.4The report also covers the Committee’s examinations into the C & AG’s Report on NonCommercial State Sponsored Bodies, Health Sector Bodies and VECs for the year 1994, in addition to its examinations of various other bodies whose accounts for 1994 were audited by him. 1.5The annual Report of the C & AG on the Appropriation Accounts 1994 was tabled in accordance with the relevant legislation on 15 September 1995. The Committee commenced its examinations on 19 October 1995 and completed them on 5 September 1996. The Committee commenced its consideration of the 1994 accounts of health boards, VECs and other bodies on 25 April 1996 and has almost completed its consideration of them. 2. MEETINGS2.1During the period under review the Committee held fifty one meetings. Of this, twenty three meetings were in relation to the Appropriation Accounts 1994. Seventeen Accounting Officers covering thirty Votes were examined. There were six meetings in relation to Value for Money reports, four for VECs, five for health boards, two for hospitals (which covered four hospitals) and five for other bodies audited by the C & AG (covering ten bodies). In addition, four meetings were in private session and two meetings were adjourned following the deaths of two Members of Dáil Éireann. 3. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS3.1In 1996, the Committee of Public Accounts extended the scope of its examinations. In addition to the Departments and Offices of State examined, the Committee now also has the power to examine Health Boards, VECs and some State-Sponsored Bodies and already examined some of the bodies resulting from the First Report of the C & AG on such bodies and the presentation of the bodies’ 1994 accounts to the Dáil. 3.2The Committee currently has a schedule of meetings arranged up to March 1997 and will be examining Accounting Officers on the 1995 Appropriation Accounts in that period. The program of meetings after that date will involve mainly CEOs of health boards, VECs and State-sponsored bodies, along with Value for Money examinations as they arise. 3.3Following a request by the Committee some time ago, the Standing Order of the House covering the PACs terms of reference (SO 146) has now been amended to allow the Committee to print and publish from time to time minutes of evidence taken in public together with any other documents it thinks fit. 4. BACKLOG OF REPORTS4.1As mentioned in last year’s report, work is ongoing in relation to the clearing of the backlog of reports that had built up. Further progress has been made - the 1989 Report has been published and work is nearing completion on amendment of the 1990 and 1991 Minutes of Evidence. Following the completion of the proofing process, all that will remain to be completed is the writing of the 1991 Report. It is hoped to have all arrears of reports eliminated by the summer of 1997. 5. VISITSEuropean Parliament5.1One member from the Committee attended a European Parliament conference on “Action to Combat Fraud in the Community Budget” in Brussels on 23 and 24 April 1996. The Member who attended was Deputy John Ellis. The various EU institutions such as the Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors were represented at the conference and each put forward its position in relation to the fight against fraud. The conference also covered topics on anti-fraud legislation, the effectiveness of the system at Community level and the effectiveness of the system at national level. The conference concluded with a number of proposals on how to make a greater contribution to combatting fraud. The proposals covered matters such as the co-operation between institutions and between member states, the need to harmonise legislation and penalties imposed and the tools necessary to succeed. St James’s Hospital5.2Following the examination of Mr John O’Brien, Acting Chief Executive Officer of St James’s Hospital by the Committee, at which the question of problems in relation to stock control were discussed, the Committee decided to visit the hospital to see at first hand the new system which had been implemented since the 1994 accounts had been audited. The delegation was led by the Chairman, Deputy Denis Foley who was accompanied by Deputies Eric Byrne, Seán Doherty, John Ellis and Ned O’Keeffe. The Committee had discussions with the ACEO and department heads on the new system operating in the General Supplies Stores, and on plans for implementation in other areas. The delegation also toured the various stores areas to see the systems in operation and were impressed with the recent improvements that were apparent. Shelton Abbey5.3The 1993 Report of the C & AG included a paragraph on cash discrepancies in Shelton Abbey Open Prison, and subsequently the Committee decided to visit the institution. Present on the visit were the Chairman Deputy Foley, Deputies Broughan, Byrne, Connor, Doherty, Batt O’Keeffe and Ned O’Keeffe. The delegation met with the Assistant Governor at the prison and with the Personnel Officer of the Prisons Division in the Department. The delegation was given some information relating to the running of the prison and questions were answered regarding value for money, the effectiveness of the system and the costs associated with the institution. This was followed by a tour of all the facilities within the complex. Overall, the Members were impressed with the operation of the prison and generally supported the concept of open prison. Ottawa5.4Four Members of the Committee visited Ottawa from 29 October to 1 November to study how the equivalent Committee in the Canadian Parliament carried out the functions assigned to it, in particular its approach to audits carried out by the Canadian Auditor General. The Committee also wished to discuss the terms of reference of the Canadian Committee and the way in which they were applied and the situation in relation to witnesses in terms of compellability, privilege, etc with a view to determining best practice and furthering the development of the Public Accounts Committee in Dáil Éireann. In this regard, the delegation had a comprehensive bilateral meeting with the Committee in the House of Commons and also with the Deputy Auditor General and senior officials from that Office to ascertain the way in which it operates and compare its role with that of the C & AG in Ireland. The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, also travelled with the delegation. Incoming Delegations5.5The Committee received a delegation of four people from Central and Eastern European countries, who were part of a larger group of researchers participating in a project under the EU funded PHARE/ACE program. The purpose of the visit was to make a comparative study of public management reforms in OECD and in Central and Eastern Europe. The group wished to meet with Members of the Public Accounts Committee to discuss the financial management of central Government. The Chairman gave the group some background about the Committee, and also outlined its main functions, information regarding meetings and the relationship with the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Chairman and Members answered some questions from the group on such topics as the expertise of Members in the financial area, the relationship between local and Central Government, the implications of the 1993 C & AG Act, the impact of SMI on the C & AG’s role and the Local Government Audit Service. The group also had some questions on the political groupings in the House. 6. VALUE FOR MONEY6.1Under the terms of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993, the C & AG is empowered to examine areas of expenditure for value for money. To this end a new division within the Office of the C & AG was established solely for this purpose. To date, there had been eight value for money (VFM) reports examined by the Committee - LEADER Programme, Energy Management in the Health Services, Garda Transport, Gas Interconnector, Management of Telephone Facilities in the Civil Service, FEOGA Borrowing, Regional Development Measures and Means Testing. At present, one further report has been presented to the Dáil on the Gulliver Tourist Information System and the Chief Executive Officer of Bord Fáilte will be examined in relation to that report in due course. Reaction to the reports published to date has been very positive both by the Committee and by Departments themselves and the Committee looks forward to its future consideration of these valuable reports by the C & AG. 7. COMPELLABILITY OF WITNESSES7.1The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Bill, 1995 and is awaiting its passage through the Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs. Currently, witnesses appearing before Committees have only the protection of qualified privilege. When the legislation is enacted, however, witnesses will have a greater level of privilege than heretofore. It is also intended that witnesses directed to appear before Committees will be legally obliged to do so. These provisions should result in the proceedings of Public Accounts Committee being televised, a longstanding wish of this and previous Committees, leading to increased openness and transparency to the public. 8. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE8.1It is intended that there will be a number of further VFM studies completed during the next few months. Work is complete in relation to a number of subjects, including Planning of Second Level School Accomodation, the National Museum at Collins Barracks and Procurement in Universities, some of which will hopefully be coming before the Committee in the near future. Those at an advanced stage of preparation are the studies on Administrative Budgets, Arterial Drainage of the Boyle and Bonet Rivers, Irish Genealogical Project, Evaluation of Phase I of the Integrated Short Term Schemes Project in Department of Social Welfare and a Review of the Ordnance Survey. 8.2The Committee has, as mentioned earlier, for a long time been attempting to have its proceedings televised, but the absence of privilege for witnesses has been a stumbling block. However, the Committee has now requested the Government Chief Whip to examine as a matter of urgency the possibility of at least broadcasting its proceedings inhouse. 8.3The position of Chief Executive Officers of Health Boards, VECs and State-Sponsored Bodies as Accounting Officers is a matter that is likely to be addressed by the Committee shortly. Under the present legislation, the term Accounting Officers only refers to Heads of Departments and Offices of State. It is the intention of the Committee to propose the amendment of the legislation to include CEOs in that definition, thereby ensuring that the appropriate persons will be accountable to the Committee in the future.
DENIS FOLEY T.D. Chairman. December, 1996. |
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