PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITEE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Thursday, 22 January 2009
SENATE CHAMBER, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Mr Paul Maskey (Chairperson)
Mr Roy Beggs (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Jonathan Craig
Mr Trevor Lunn
Mr Mitchel McLaughlin
Ms Dawn Purvis
Mr George Robinson
Mr Jim Shannon
Mr Jim Wells
In Attendance:
Ms Alison Ross (Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Gillian Lewis (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mr John Lunny (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Darren Weir (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Mr Thomas Burns
Mr John Dallat
The meeting opened at 2.02pm in public session.
1. Apologies.
Apologies are listed above.
2. Matters arising.
(a) Members considered amendments to the forward work programme for January to April 2009. The Chairperson informed members that the draft Report on Brangam Bagnall & Co has been delayed by one week and that the evidence session on the scrutiny of North/South Bodies will now take place on Thursday, 12 March 2009.
Agreed: Members agreed the amendments to the forward work programme.
(b) Members considered the witnesses for the evidence session on the North/South Bodies.
Agreed: Members agreed to call the Accounting Officers, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and Department of Finance and Personnel, or their deputies, and the Chief Executives of InterTrade Ireland and the Special EU Programmes Body.
(c) Members noted an invitation from the Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts for a visit to Dublin on 18 and 19 February 2009. Members also considered a draft itinerary for the visit.
Agreed: Members agreed the itinerary for the visit to Dublin on 18 and 19 February 2009.
Agreed: Members agreed to inform the Clerk of their availability for the visit to Dublin by Tuesday 27 January 2009.
3. Evidence on the NIAO Report ‘Road Openings by Utilities: Follow-up to Recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee’.
The Committee took oral evidence on the NIAO report ‘Road Openings by Utilities: Follow-up Recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee’ from Mr Paul Priestly, Accounting Officer, Department for Regional Development (DRD), Mr Geoff Allister, Chief Executive, Roads Service, DRD, and Dr Andrew Murray, Director of Network Services, Road Service, DRD.
The witnesses answered a number of questions put by the Committee.
Members requested that the witnesses should provide additional information to the Clerk on some issues raised as a result of the evidence session.
4.17pm The evidence session finished and the witnesses left the meeting.
4. Minutes of the meeting on 15 January 2009.
Agreed: The minutes were agreed.
5. Any other business.
The Chairperson informed members about a breach of the embargo on the Committee’s press release for the Report on Shared Services for Efficiency – A Progress Report, and that the matter had been dealt with by the Assembly Information Officer.
6. Date, time and place of next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 2.00pm in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 4.20pm.