Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003
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Accounts. |
14.—(1) The Commission shall keep in such form, and in respect of such accounting periods as may be approved of by the Minister, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it and shall keep any special accounts that the Minister may from time to time direct. | |
(2) In relation to accounts kept under this section the Secretary General shall— | ||
(a) submit them annually to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit, not later than 3 months after the accounting period to which they relate, and | ||
(b) immediately after the audit referred to in paragraph (a), present a copy of them, and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on them, to the Minister. | ||
(3) The Minister shall lay copies of the audited accounts and the report referred to in subsection (2) before each House of the Oireachtas. | ||
(4) Whenever required to do so by a Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the standing orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Secretary General shall give evidence to that Committee on— | ||
(a) the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any book or other record of account of the Commission subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General, | ||
(b) the economy and efficiency of the Commission in the use of its resources, | ||
(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Commission for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and | ||
(d) any matter affecting the Commission referred to in a special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 11 (2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 , or in any other report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (insofar as it relates to a matter specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that is laid before Dáil Éireann. | ||
(5) In performing functions under subsection (4), the Secretary General shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy. |