Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Several different bodies have indicated the service was beneficial. The Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform this morning confirmed that he had referred to and used the service in the past. He said that other Departments and bodies have benefited from it as well. This matter puzzles me because the cost of Benefacts over six or seven years was roughly €6 million. My concern is that the proposal to replace it is through Pobal. Again, I am open to correction on this but Pobal is saying clearly that it does not have the resources or staff to deal with this. In any case, to get a database like Benefacts back up and running again would result in a time lag. What happens in the interim?