The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) (formally the Committee of Public Accounts) () is a
standing committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
of
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
, the lower house of the Irish Parliament. It oversees
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
expenditures to ensure they are effective and honest. It is responsible for examining reports of Comptroller and Auditor General on Departmental expenditure and certain other accounts. It also considers the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports of economy, efficiency, effectiveness evaluation systems, procedures and practices. The PAC has a key role to play in ensuring accountability and
transparency in the way Government agencies allocate, spend and manage their finances and in guaranteeing that the taxpayer receives value for every euro spent. By the nature of its role as the public spending watchdog, the Committee of Public Accounts is one of the most powerful Oireachtas Committees.
Overview
It is established under Standing Order 163 of Dáil Éireann which requires it to be set up as a standing committee after each general election. The committee is constituted to be impartially representative of the Dáil and consists of thirteen members. A member of the Government or a Minister of State can not be a member of the PAC. It is normally chaired by a member of the opposition.
Membership
Membership of the committee for the
34th Dáil
The 34th Dáil was elected at the 2024 general election on 29 November 2024 and first met on 18 December 2024. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It is sitt ...
is as follows:
Cathaoirligh of the Public Accounts Committee
It is customary for a member of the largest opposition party to chair the committee.
See also
*
Public Accounts Committee
A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
References
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Oireachtas
Dáil Éireann
Irish budgets
Irel