Mr. Paddy Hopkins:

It was very much a part-time role that involved visitation in Tallaght. We have a chapter there and get requests for support on a weekly basis. We meet once a week and then do visitations. I was purely on the ground meeting the people, which is I why emphasise that it brings home to one the need for charities, the good work they can do and the importance of having trust in and integrity within the sector.

I also mentioned in my statement that I was on the east region finance committee of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for about a year. The society is a very large and dispersed type of organisation and the finance committee was trying very hard to bring about corporate governance structures to facilitate more effective and efficient management of resources. I stepped down from that because of my designation as chair of the CRA.