Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the RSA, which does an incredibly important job, reference is made to non-competitive procurement of goods and services in 2016 to the value of €1.1 million. This was an organisation that was barely able to operate at board level for a long period because it did not have the numbers on the board. Specifically, there are positions on that board which, for obvious reasons, are designated specialist positions relating to areas such as engineering, finance, etc., and many have been left vacant. A couple of the positions have been filled in the past few weeks or months. We need to correlate whether the procurement issues or any other issues relate to the fact that, effectively, we have a board that is barely functioning, despite it having a very good chairperson. We also need to discover whether this is having consequences. I use this as an example because, while it is not the only example, it is a particularly sensitive one in light of the organisation involved. Could we write to the RSA and ask it to explain whether the lack of board members in 2016 had any impact on its performance and the way it conducted its business?