Examination of Witnesses (Questions 1-3)
JOHN M DOWDALL
CB, CIARAN MOORE
MONDAY 26 FEBRUARY
2007
Q1 Could Mr Dowdall now come forward?
We shall do a similar exercise with you. We have a hearing scheduled.
What is happening with the peace process? Will we have the hearing
with you? Will we remain the PAC for Northern Ireland?
John Dowdall: It is very close
to call. On balance, I suspect that you will not remain the PAC
for Northern Ireland.
Chairman: So do you think that this might
be the last time?
John Dowdall: That would probably
be good news for all of us. I am not confident, however, about
your getting the session that we scheduled on 28 March. The timing
of all this is the really difficult thing. Although we know there
will be an election on 7 March and negotiations after it, it is
not clear at this stage whether there will be an Assembly up and
running by 28 March, which is the key date for our next hearing.
Chairman: We will keep it scheduled and
we may or may not have the pleasure of your company.
John Dowdall: Yes.
Q2 Chairman: The same process will
now repeat itself. You will be questioned at much greater length
tomorrow. I have a question that I might have asked you before,
but it is a good one and bears repetition. As you know, the National
Audit Office has a target to save £9 of public money for
every £1 it spends. Why do not you have a similar target?
I know that you said that you are a smaller organisation, but
have you revisited the question?
John Dowdall: I am glad that you
have revisited it. We have frequently discussed it with you. I
will not go into the reasons, but this gives me an opportunity
to say that since we last had a substantive discussion on the
matter, which was a couple of years ago at an Estimate session,
we have been working hard, as we said we would, to push our ratio
on to an upward trend. At that time, it was about 2:1 to 3:1,
and I said that that was a volatile figure. Last year's figure
was just under 6:1. That largely comes from studying Sir John's
methodology and where his savings come from, and seeing how best
we can read those across to Northern Ireland. We are pleased and
slightly surprised to be where we are, because two years ago I
would have told you that we could not possibly achieve that level.
In the immediate future, our efforts will be directed to trying
to sustain that level of savings.
Q3 Chairman: Okay. Do any colleagues
have further questions for Mr Dowdall?
I think that that is all, Mr Dowdall, but just
in case we do not meet again, may I thank you for all that you
have given the Committee? We have found our Northern Ireland work
very interesting and have had some fairly robust hearings together.
I hope that you think that we have contributed to good governance
in Northern Ireland.
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