Secretary general of Department of Education agrees to appear before PAC

Seán Ó Foghlú: Asked for the PAC to state 'the main areas of interest for members in the accounts'. Picture: Oireachtas TV/PA Wire

The secretary general of the Department of Education has agreed to appear before the Public Accounts Committee after it was noted members may not be able to ask about the Leaving Certificate.

The PAC wants to examine procurement matters related to the calculated grades system for the 2020 Leaving Certificate and invited Seán Ó Foghlú, the secretary general of the Department of Education, to appear.

Mr Ó Foghlú was not available for the first invitation but has agreed to appear on October 21.

Mr Ó Foghlú agreeing to appear comes after Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl had suggested the committee may not have jurisdiction to ask about the Leaving Certificate under the new standing orders, as the committee can only now inquire about "published accounts", which would not yet be available in relation to the Leaving Certificate debacle.

"In this context, the court suggested that a mechanism be put in place to allow for quick and efficient changes to committee terms of reference," Mr Ó Fearghaíl said in a letter to Sinn Féin's Brian Stanley,  chair of the committee.

The Ceann Comhairle "respectfully requested" that the matter not be progressed any further by PAC until it is considered by the Dáil's Committee on Procedure.

In Mr Ó Foghlú's letter accepting the invitation, he asks for the committee to state "the main areas of interest for PAC members in the accounts".

It is understood the PAC will now question the secretary general on the published accounts of 2018-2019.

Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy said the committee wants to investigate the previous relationship between the department and the Canadian company Polymetrika, which wrote the code for the grading algorithm.

"We want to find out if there was a historical basis for the debacle," Mr Carthy said.

"It's fairly early on, but we know someone from that company was appointed onto a department advisory group and this person's company was then employed by the department.

"There may be other issues that we'll put to the department, the procurement processes in the last few years, and any issues pertaining relationship with the company involved.

"The Dáil is expected to have an oversight in these matters."

Mr Stanley has written to the Ceann Comhairle asking that standing order 218 be rewritten after members said the newly drafted rule will severely curtail their work.

The newly drafted order defines what the committee can ask about in its hearings and was  implemented after the Kerins judgment. Committee members have demanded a redrafting of an "overly restrictive" rule which will "totally paralyse" its work.