Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that, and I will not push it much more because Mr. Goulding is a private citizen. He has come before the Committee of Public Accounts and co-operated with us. I genuinely admire and appreciate that, and the fact that Mr. Goulding has put his hands up, so to speak, in terms of errors. My view on this, and Mr. Goulding may or may not wish to comment, is that he had a board of people who were well-meaning individuals, from my experience and reading, and I will not cast aspersions on the ability of the former chief executive because Mr. Goulding told me, and he had many more dealings with him than I did, he did a good job but it seems as if the board was taken hostage at the end by a man who constantly stated in his e-mails to Mr. Goulding and others that he did not want to embarrass the CRC, that he wanted an exit strategy and referred to "my package". The tone I and others get from reading the e-mails between Mr. Goulding and Mr. Kiely is of an individual who, albeit his legal entitlement, will not budge and has a board of well-meaning individuals over a barrel. That is not to say, and Mr. Goulding has already acknowledged, that things could not have been done differently, but that is my take on it for what it is worth. Mr. Goulding might wish to comment on that.