Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have been raising it for some months. It is not obvious what controls are in place, particularly on the part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, regarding a grant awarded to this particular body. The Chairman said the claims are unsubstantiated and that may well be the case but there are significant concerns. I am concerned about the governance around this and how decisions were made for the location of this particular facility. I have had some correspondence with individuals about this. It is difficult given that the committee does not have direct responsibility. We will have officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine before the committee at some point and we need to explore with them what controls the Department has over the awarding of funding and what it requires in return in terms of governance. It may be advisable to write to the Department in the meantime inquiring what controls it has in that respect. Every reply I get advises me that this is an independent body. However, public money is being allocated.