Mr. Ted Owens:

I was the CEO of City of Cork VEC at the time. I would have pointed out to the audit committee that this was a particularly important function and that they had a huge oversight role, not just in terms of finance but in terms of systems and procedures. However, this was a reserve function of the committee. It was for members to decide who was on the committee - it was not my function. I would have looked for people who had a finance background or knowledge in that area. I recently advertised for members of the audit committee because, in the new audit committees, there must be three external members. The Department has taken action in that regard.