Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is the key issue with regard to the proposal for clustering and federation. It looks great in theory but I am not sure how it will work in practice when there are so many different patron bodies. I spoke to Mr. Cottrell last week about this. Perhaps it is something the witnesses have taken into account and they see some way of overcoming the issue of patronage.

I acknowledge what Mr. Byrne and Ms Nihill said. One of their proposals was the establishment of a steering committee under their direction. Could they give us a little more information on that? They go into detail in their presentation about what the remit of that committee would be. Will the Department comment on the possibility of that becoming a reality in the near future? Would the Department be open to it?