Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

As I said in my reply to the Deputy's question, what happened at Shannon Foynes Port Company during the course of this period was the subject of much investigation and the subject of a report by Deloitte. It is obvious that all was not well in the port. Weaknesses in corporate governance were identified by Deloitte. As a result, the chief executive officer resigned and new board members have been appointed. The recommendations made to me and the recommendations regarding corporate governance made by my Department to the company, have all been implemented at this stage. There is no doubt that significant difficulties arose as a result of various legal actions taken which cost the company a lot of money. The situation was far from satisfactory. However, the company must run its own affairs. My responsibility was to ensure that a new board was put in place with a new chairperson. Those matters have been dealt with. I am unable to say any more than that because of the legal situation.

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