Institutes of Technology Act 2006

Amendment of Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999.

54.— The Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 is amended—

(a) by deleting subsection (5) of section 50, and

(b) in the Second Schedule, by adding after paragraph 5 the following:

“6. The chief executive of a relevant body shall, whenever required to do so by the 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, 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 subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General that the relevant body is required by this Act to prepare,

(b) the economy and efficiency of the relevant body in the use of its resources,

(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the relevant body for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and

(d) any matter affecting the relevant body 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 (in so far as it relates to a matter specified in subparagraph (a), (b) or (c)) that is laid before Dáil Éireann.

7. The chief executive of a relevant body, if required under paragraph 6 to give evidence, 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.

8. From time to time and whenever so requested, the chief executive of a relevant body shall account for the performance of the relevant body’s functions to a Committee of one or both Houses of the Oireachtas and shall have regard to any recommendations of such Committee relevant to these functions.”.