Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In response to a question from Deputy Cassells, Dr. Lynch stated, "Pobal organises all of the schemes for us and it also carries out compliance work." Does Dr. Lynch believe Pobal did that job? If Pobal could not organise the scheme, and if it did not have either small or large providers using anything other than a pen and paper - which, by the looks of things, was completely inadequate - and if compliance was its other role, which I imagine was adhering to the rules and not committing fraud, then it did not do its job right until two years ago. During the entire period it was in receipt of €500 million in public money. I am a big supporter of the ECCE scheme. I have had the benefit of it and I still have one child in it. As a believer in the scheme, I am very concerned that a system was set up whereby companies - be they small or large - could get payments on the basis of children being enrolled, with no checks as to whether those children ever spent even a day in the crèches or facilities involved. This appears to have been going on for eight to ten years. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is the body in charge of Pobal. It is almost similar to the relationship between the Department of Health and the HSE. What happened was just reckless, particularly in the context of €500 million in public money being involved.