John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is an example of someone deliberately ignoring the hearings of a committee which were signed off on by a number of Chairmen. The matter concerns every party to the case. The payment should be reviewed and someone should ask about it. I do not know why the money is not being paid, particularly given the independence of the Ombudsman and the various reviews undertaken in the Houses and the fact that the case was referred to them. I encourage the Department to examine the matter in the context of expenditure.

We have dealt with Bord na gCon. Concern has been expressed about the fact that organisations are often considered on the basis of concern about their ongoing business. That has been said about Bord na gCon and its representatives will be before us again next week. As Chairman of the committee, I feel obliged to highlight to the Department the fact that there are continuing concerns about the organisation and others listed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, with the same comment on their reports.

I wish to return to the comments made by Mr. Watt on committees of the Houses vis-à-visthose applying for leadership roles. I do not wish to have a discussion on the matter. The answer is that if individuals were scared of applying for the job, or if it was one of the things about which they were scared, given the fact that some of them would have been in control of budgets of billions of euro on behalf of the taxpayer, I suggest one is better off without them. I fail to see how they can offer that kind of comment. We must talk to Ms Fiona Tierney about this. None of the biggest companies in the country which one would regard as being hard-nosed in business is short of leadership staff.