Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Let us get this right. It was not a confrontational question. Trust me, I will have some such questions later and we are only starting. Mr. Barry has been around the block before Oireachtas committees for years and I have dealt with him on many occasions. I must acknowledge that he is good when he appears before committees and is clear and concise in his answers. I accept that the role he took on was a poisoned chalice and I admire him for taking it on. Nevertheless, there was a reason the chief procurement officer of Ireland was put on the board, for expertise. The expertise of that role - I do not refer to the individual - is no longer there. How Mr. Barry could appear before the committee and not state it was a loss is beyond me and does not give me any confidence. It shakes my confidence, which had been improving.