Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I shall answer the last question first. The Deputy is quite right that I am very busy. I took the annual report with me on holidays and that was when I made my discoveries. I read the report in my spare time and I had only four days of holidays.

I was somewhat surprised, as I know many people were, to find that a final print of an annual report, not a draft, was presented to me in an unacceptable condition. I got hold of the report to find information on the directors. The RSA is not unique in this but the report only contained photographs of the directors and nothing else. They might as well have been the man on the moon as far as I was concerned. I had on my desk at the same time, and I shall discuss the directors in a minute, a request for the re-appointment of directors when there was absolutely no information about them in the annual report. It was not just the fact that the final print was in such an unacceptable condition.

This was printed in technicolor. It was not a draft and was for my final approval. I am sure there are many annual reports that get final approval automatically. I found there were no valuations being done by the directors of each other's performance when I was being asked to appoint and reappoint some directors. I also found that the attendance records of certain directors were not adequate to say the least. They were missing many meetings.