Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In terms of volunteers and their concerns, the 2010 CIB report from which I took the figure about the 2,700 hours contributed weekly pointed to the fact that community ethos was a key motivator for volunteers. A concern has been raised in respect of the restructuring regarding community ethos. As was mentioned by the Chair, the attachment of local services to independence, which is of concern to the witnesses and was called market failure and misalignment of goals, is very much valued not only by staff and volunteers but also by users.

There is a question about whom the CIB is accountable to. I will leave that aside and choose another point from those I have.

The witnesses said they answered members' points on the other report, but one very important concern was that this does not relate solely to service delivery for the CIB or to its internal governance but also to the governance of 93 independent companies. Do the witnesses agree that the restructuring proposes that the CIB should exert financial and other pressures on those 93 independent companies to change their internal governance structures? This issue was raised in the initial report, 4.41, and was not answered by the CIB in its response.