Bill aims to broaden scope of State accounts body to monitor public spending

Brian Stanley said that the bill is aimed at ensuring that where the Government “outsources” programmes to the private sector that those organisations are “held accountable”. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Sinn Féin has launched prospective legislation aimed at increasing the powers of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to investigate the spending of public funds by broadening the scope of its remit.

The new bill, titled the Comptroller and Auditor General Bill 2021, would see both the committee and the C&AG, the State’s accountant, empowered to investigate bodies where State funding is significant but comprises less than 50% of the receiving body’s income.

That would see organisations such as the FAI, mental health charity Pieta House and certain other health sector bodies come further under the jurisdiction of the PAC and the C&AG in terms of funding accountability, according to chair of the PAC and Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley.

Launching the bill this morning, Mr Stanley said that the bill is aimed at ensuring that where the Government “outsources” programmes to the private sector that those organisations are “held accountable”.

He said the draft legislation is “based on the principle that all public money is to be subject to the same scrutiny regardless of the organisation’s size or level of funding”.

Sinn Féin TD & Chair of PAC Brian Stanley has published the ‘Comptroller & Auditor General Bill 2021’.

This would empower the C&AG and PAC to chase all public money spent, even where state funding comprises less than 50% of the organisation’s revenue. https://t.co/rPklKs6Gb0 pic.twitter.com/4RWIoHVOcr

— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) February 2, 2021

Mr Stanley acknowledged that Horse Racing Ireland, a body which has received nearly €1 billion in State funding since 2001 and which recently posted a loss of €389,000 on foot of a cash-in-transit firm going bust, is an example of a body which could raise issues he would wish to see investigated by the PAC.

He added that there are “a lot of healthcare organisations”, section 38 or 39 companies, which are currently in receipt of less than 50% funding from the State which he would hope to be able to call before the PAC in future.

“I would hope to be able to work on this with the Government,” Mr Stanley said. 

“We’ll publish the bill, we think it’s a good piece of legislation, it’s relatively straightforward.” 

He added that he “doesn’t expect any resistance” from the C&AG itself given it’s an issue which has been raised with that body on a number of occasions.

“Public money is going to be scarce when the pandemic is over. At the moment there has to be a big spend, but as we move forward it’s important that every euro is accounted for,” he said.

The new bill will compel, or “put the onus on”, organisations to attend before both the PAC and the C&AG, Mr Stanley said, though he acknowledged that during his chairmanship of the committee no organisation had as yet declined to attend.