Business of Committee
Chairman:   We will now begin in public session. No. 1 is the minutes of our meetings of 20, 26 and 27 June. Are they agreed? Agreed. No. 2 is matters arising from the minutes. There are no matters arising.
No. 3 is correspondence received since our meeting on Thursday, 27 June.
Deputy John Deasy: I had requested that representatives of the Valuation Office appear before the committee. I raised that when the officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government appeared before the committee last week. Have we set a date for representatives of the Valuation Office to come before the committee to speak on the issues I raised, particularly as they pertain to the increase in commercial rates due to revaluation?
Chairman: Yes, 18 July 2013. Is that okay?
Deputy John Deasy: It is okay. Will any other officials appear before the committee with the officials from the Valuation Office? It would be helpful if one or two officials from the line Ministry, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, who deal with revaluations would come before the committee with officials from the Valuation Office.
Chairman: We can ask that they come in.
Deputy John Deasy: There is the element of statutory independence but it is the line Ministry. I have checked the Act and the Minister has power to revoke and amend the Act if necessary. It would be helpful if officials from the Department that is the line Ministry were to come in as well.
Chairman: I am sure the officials from that Department who would be knowledgeable about that will be in with us. The clerk has advised me that the Secretary General of the Department, Mr. Watt, will be in next week and the Deputy could raise the issue with him also.
Deputy John Deasy: I did not realise that.
Chairman: Mr. Watt will be in next week and officials from the Valuation Office and the Department will be in on 18 July. Therefore, the Deputy will have two opportunities to raise the matter.
Deputy John Deasy: That is very helpful. With regard to the agenda for next week, can we flag with the Department that this will be raised as it has been raised at this committee in the past few weeks?
Chairman: Yes, we can.
Deputy John Deasy: Is that fair enough? I do not know what is on the agenda in terms of Mr. Watt from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform coming in but this is an important issue that has been raised here and we could give him due notice of it.
Chairman: Yes. We will inform the Secretary General before he comes in that this matter will be raised and the Deputy can then raise it with him.
Deputy John Deasy: Okay.
Chairman: The following week we will have the Department and the Valuation Office.
Deputy John Deasy: That is perfect. I thank the Chairman for that.
Chairman: The next item is correspondence received since our meeting of 27 June 2013. No. 3A.1 is correspondence dated 28 May 2013 from Mr. Frank Ryan, chief executive officer, Enterprise Ireland, re Wicklow Enterprise Park, to be noted and published. Nos. 3A.2 to 3A.5 all refer to matters relating to Wicklow Enterprise Park which was raised by Deputy Harris.
Deputy Simon Harris: I ask that we would have a week to consider this and that we would take this matter at the start of our meeting next Thursday.
Chairman: It could be raised as an item. Does the Deputy want to raise it?
Deputy Simon Harris: Yes. I would like if we could deal with it when dealing with correspondence next Thursday.
Chairman: We will deal with any of the correspondence relative to that next Thursday.
Deputy Simon Harris: Yes.
Chairman: Nos. 3A.3 to 3A.5 will be dealt with next Thursday.
No. 3A.6 is correspondence, dated 25 June 2013, from Chief Superintendent Orla McPartlin, personal assistant to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, re providing additional information requested at our meeting of 16 May, to be noted and published. No. 3A.7 is correspondence, dated 25 June 2013, from Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, re forwarding the minute of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in response to the committee's report on the Health Service Executive, to be noted and published. No. 3A.8 is correspondence, dated 2 July 2013, from Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, re forwarding the minute of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in response to the committee's report on Irish Aid, to be noted and published.
Moving on to individual correspondence, No. 3B.1 is correspondence, received on 16 June 2013, from Mr. Edward Gus Ryan, chairman, Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation, re the Irish greyhound industry, to be noted and forwarded to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for appropriate follow up. Is there a timeframe for them to come back to us on that?
Clerk to the Committee: I can get the Department to come back to us. He is raising a lot of issues so they need to be investigated and I will ask them about that.
Chairman: We should ask them for a comprehensive and prompt response.
Clerk to the Committee: It will ask them for that.
Chairman: No. 3B.2 is correspondence, dated 27 May 2013, from Mr. Frank Russell re Build and Allied Trades' Union, BATU, to be noted and a copy forwarded to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners for appropriate follow up on the settlement of a tax bill and to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for a note on use of departmental funds.
No. 3B.3 is correspondence, received on 11 June 2013, from Mr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Corbally, County Limerick, re digital audio recordings - Irish Courts Service, to be noted and a copy to be forwarded to the Courts Service for a note on the matter. No. 3B.4 is correspondence, dated 27 June 2013, from Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills, re forwarding correspondence with Mr. John Fallon, Ballina, County Mayo, to be noted. No. 3B.5 is correspondence dated 19 June 2013 from Mr. Eamonn O'Neill re previous correspondence with the committee regarding An Garda Síochána, to be noted. As this issue is before the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, we have no function in the matter.
No. 3C is correspondence related to today's meeting. No. 3C.1 is correspondence, dated 26 June 2013, from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills, re briefing paper on matters to be considered at the meeting of 4 July 2013, to be noted and published. No. 3C.2 is correspondence, dated 27 June 2013, from Mr. Paul O’Toole, director general of FÁS, re briefing paper on matters to be considered at the meeting of 4 July 2013, to be noted and published. No. 3C.3 is correspondence, received on 1 July 2013 from Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills, re the opening statement, to be noted and published. No. 3C.4 is correspondence, received 2 July 2013, from Mr. Paul O'Toole, director general of FÁS, re the opening statement, to be noted and published.
The next item is reports, statements and accounts received since our meeting of 27 June and No. 4.1 is Waterford County Enterprise Board Annual Report 2011.
No. 5 is the work programme, which is now on screen. Representatives of IDA Ireland will meet the committee on Thursday, 19 September 2013. We will meet officials of the Department of Social Protection on 18 July. As agreed with Deputy Deasy, we will deal with the matter he raised as well.
The next item is any other business. Do members have any other business to raise?
Deputy Simon Harris: I wish to raise a minor point which I raised with the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government last week.
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