Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ms Carol O'Reilly and Mr. Tim Scully from the Department are present. Everyone believes that our Department has 100 staff, but it does not. The numbers are small. Ms O'Reilly and Mr. Scully have done a great deal of work for the EU Presidency. The country has held two major conferences. I do not mind saying this publicly, but I am disappointed by the national media, particularly RTE, which did not give those events more prominence. People came from across Europe, as did the world's top speakers. They enjoyed the conferences and their visits to Ireland. They were delighted by the hosting. Ms Olivia O'Leary chaired one conference and Mr. John Murray chaired the other. I thank Ms O'Reilly and Mr. Scully for their efforts and commitment in this regard. I also thank my small number of staff in Killarney. Much is happening under the sports capital grant and other schemes and there is a great deal of pressure, but those staff members are delivering.