PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITEE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Room 144, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Mr Roy Beggs (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr John Dallat
Mr Simon Hamilton
Mr David Hilditch
Mr Mitchel McLaughlin
In Attendance:
Mr Jim Beatty (Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Gillian Lewis (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Mrs Nicola Shepherd (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Darren Weir (Clerical Officer)
Apologies:
Mr Paul Maskey (Chairperson)
Mr Thomas Burns
Mr Jonathan Craig
Mr Trevor Lunn
Ms Dawn Purvis
Mr Jim Wells
The meeting opened at 2.09pm in public session with the Deputy Chairperson in the Chair.
1. Apologies.
Apologies are listed above.
2. Minutes of the meeting on 5 June 2008.
Agreed: The minutes were agreed.
3. Matters arising.
None.
4. Briefing on the NIAO report ‘Sea Fisheries: Vessel Modernisation and Decommissioning Schemes’.
Mr Kieran Donnelly, Deputy C&AG, Mr Robert Hutcheson, Director of Value for Money, Ms Jacqueline O’Brien, Audit Manager, and Mr Joe Campbell, Audit Manager, briefed the Committee on the NIAO Report, ‘Sea Fisheries: Vessel Modernisation and Decommissioning Schemes’, and answered members’ questions.
2.15pm The meeting went into closed session.
Agreed: Members agreed that questions at the evidence session on 19 June 2008 would be asked in the order that the issues are dealt with in the NIAO report.
Agreed: Members agreed to review this arrangement at a later meeting.
5. Issues from oral evidence session on the NIAO report ‘Management of Sickness Absence in the NICS’.
Members discussed issues relating to the evidence session.
6. Consideration of the Committee’s Draft Report on Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland: A Case Study in Financial Management and the Public Appointments Process.
The witnesses attending were Mr John Dowdall CB , C&AG, Mr Robert Hutcheson, Director of Value for Money, Mr Alan Orme, Audit Manager, and Mr Joe Campbell, Audit Manager, NIAO.
The Committee continued its consideration of the main body of the report paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraph 58 read and agreed.
Paragraphs 59 and 60 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph 61 read and agreed.
Agreed: Members agreed to include a further paragraph after paragraph 61.
Members considered paragraph 86 which had been revised after last week’s meeting.
Paragraph 86 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph 117 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph 118 read and agreed.
Paragraphs 119 and 120 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraphs 121 and 122 read and agreed.
Paragraphs 123 and 124 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraphs 125 and 126 read and agreed.
Paragraph 127 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraphs 128 and 129 read and agreed.
Paragraph 130 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph 131 read and agreed.
Paragraph 132 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph133 read and agreed.
Paragraphs 134 and 135 read, amended and agreed.
The Committee considered the Executive Summary of the report.
Paragraphs 1 – 3 read and agreed.
Paragraph 4 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraph 5 read and agreed.
Paragraph 6 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraphs 7 – 14 read and agreed.
Paragraph 15 read, amended and agreed.
Paragraphs 16 – 21 read and agreed.
Agreed: Members ordered the report to be printed.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Chairperson’s letters requesting additional information to Dr Aideen McGinley and Mr Paul Sweeney, and the responses would be included in the Committee’s report.
Agreed: Members agreed that additional correspondence from Mr Adgey and Mrs Williamson would be included in the report.
Agreed: Members agreed that the Clerk’s letter to the Northern Ireland Certification Officer and his response would be included in the report.
Agreed: Members agreed that the correspondence to and from the OFMDFM Committee would be included in the report.
Agreed: Members agreed that correspondence provided by a Committee member would also be included in the report.
Agreed: Members agreed to embargo the report until 00.01am on Monday 30 June 2008, when the report would be officially released.
Agreed: Members agreed to hold a press conference on Monday, 30 June 2008 at 9.15am in the Press Conference Suite to launch the Committee’s report.
7. Any other business.
None.
8. Date, time and place of next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 2.00pm in a room to be arranged.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 3.45pm.