Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Shane Ross that during the proceedings yesterday - at 1.44 p.m. to be precise - Mr. Conlon issued a statement which he directed towards the Committee of Public Accounts on foot of my questioning yesterday. I made reference to the fact that he had been overpaid by a top-up payment of €40,000 above the agreed salary level with the HSE and that I believed it should have been refunded to the CRC, rather than the HSE.

He wrote back to us to confirm that he would refund the CRC. He issued a statement of which he sent a copy to the PAC. I found it incredible that he would not appear before the PAC yet he issued a statement to the PAC during our hearings yesterday. I would prefer if Mr. Conlon would do the decent thing and appear voluntarily before the PAC. I agree with Deputy Ross that in terms of the integrity of the process we have no option but to compel the witness to attend. There is a slight contradiction in the fact that he was unwilling to attend the hearing yet he issued a press statement during the hearing itself.

Given that the Mater hospital will appear before the committee next week we need the relevant parties to come before the committee. The Mater hospital has issued a statement in which it indicated that the four parties involved are the Mater hospital, the CRC, the HSE and perhaps the Department of Health. It is important that we invite representatives of the Mater hospital, the Department of Health and the HSE.

This is not a personal issue in terms of the board of the CRC but its continuation as a board is casting a cloud over the fantastic work done by the CRC. It is also casting a cloud over the entire charity sector in terms of fund-raising. The integrity of the overall charity sector is being called into question. The positions of board members are untenable. We had in excess of five hours of hearings yesterday. There comes a point when it is no longer a personal issue regarding individuals but it is about the common good for service users within the CRC, those working in the CRC and the services they provide and the overall charity sector. For those reasons the board must step down with immediate effect.