Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are talking about oversight and the making of the rules of the game. I must say as a member of the committee, I think that it is shocking governance, without prejudice to the wonderful expertise of the individual we are talking about. As a matter of basic rules, to give people the peace of mind to which they are entitled, the regulated should never, while continuing to be regulated, have a seat on the board of the regulator. I ask the Department to give the committee a formal response as to why this has happened. It would also be useful to know how many people applied for this position and what assessment criteria was used to make the appointment. In terms of ticking boxes of expertise and qualifications, I have no doubt but there is a fundamental flaw in what has occurred here.

It it ironic that Members in the Roscommon area including Deputy Eugene Murphy and Senator Leyden have raised the issue of the Cuisle centre which is a holiday resort for people with disabilities and particularly wheelchair users. That facility is set to close. Say in the case where, for example, the IWA is a fantastic association, and Cuisle is a particularly fantastic part of the national infrastructure for people who are wheelchair users and so on, does the regulator have any competence on issues like that where it can liaise with the charity to ask that it keep such a facility open? Can it ask what are the problems and why such a facility is being closed?