14 May 2014, 10:30
Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, Sean O’Foghlu, will attend the Committee of Public Accounts meeting tomorrow, Thursday, 15th May 2014 to discuss Chapter 12 of the C&AG Annual Report 2012 on Contract Management in Education PPPs. Also on the agenda is an issue highlighted in Chapter 4 of the C&AG Annual Report 2012, relating to payments made to FÁS, which are jointly funded from the Department’s Vote and the National Training Fund. The issue raised relates to budgeting and transparency.
The Department’s Appropriation Account for 2012 is also on the agenda this week along with the National Training Fund Account for 2012.
Chairman of the Committee John McGuinness TD said: “In relation to the Appropriation Account, the Committee will be keen to discuss the capital works which are on-going at schools and funding for these. Committee members will be interested to ascertain if current funding levels are sufficient to accommodate the increasing school population. The recently reinstated Minor Works and Summer Works Schemes could also be discussed.
Reductions in staff numbers in the sector and the effect this is having on services will also be of interest, while legal fees in relation to the five commissions and enquiries within the Department’s remit and the future costs of these will also be discussed. Also on the agenda will be expenditure on temporary school accommodation and recent trends in this area of expenditure.
In relation to the School Transport Scheme, the Committee will be interested in oversight arrangements with Bus Éireann for delivery of school transport services as well as whether current costs represent value for money. The Committee will also be eager to obtain an update on operations at SUSI and improvements implemented in order to deliver a better service to students.”
This meeting will start in Committee Room 1 at 10am on Thursday, 15th May 2014.
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Committee of Public Accounts Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Áine Collins
Gerald Nash,
Simon Harris,
Robert Dowds,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross.