Mr. Joe O'Flynn:

I can tell the committee that I, certainly, as general secretary of the union, never went on any of these trips. Nor did any of my colleagues or my fellow officers Mr. Jack O'Connor and Ms Patricia King. None of us ever went on any of these trips.

There are two current members of staff who did travel, and we inquired of them as to the nature of that travel. One trip was to London for a number of days and was to do with a nursing training programme, and the other was a trip to the United States for reasons connected with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act and changes in the legislation which were being introduced in 2004. Of the currently serving staff members of the union, there are two people who actually went on those trips. I think the records will show that the vast majority of people who travelled on these trips were not SIPTU people at all, and those are the facts.