Harris welcomes Irish Water agreement to appear before the PAC

Fine Gael Wicklow TD and member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Simon Harris, has this evening (Monday) said he is pleased that representatives from Irish Water are to appear before the PAC this Wednesday to discuss how public money has been spent in setting up the new semi State body.

“The PAC plays a very important role in monitoring how taxpayers’ money is spent, and as I have been making clear since last week, I think it is only right that Irish Water appear before the PAC to fully account for how it spent €50 million on consultants over the last year.

“The fact that Irish Water doesn’t fall under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General should not diminish the PAC’s determination to scrutinise the spending of public money, so I am pleased that Irish Water is agreeing to appear before the Committee this week.

“I also believe that the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment and representatives from Commission for Energy Regulation should be called before the PAC so we can get a full picture of how public money is being spent in the setting up of the new State utilities company.

“The Environment Committee obviously has an important role to play in examining this issue, and I believe the role of the PAC should be complementary to that process. It is nothing unusual for a State or semi State body to appear before more than one Oireachtas committee. I believe an appearance by Irish Water before both the Environment and Public Accounts Committee will help ensure transparency and accountability.”