Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank everyone for their attendance. I know it is not an easy task but we greatly appreciate it. We all have a role to play here. Our role is to ensure the public are getting value for money and that anybody who is in a position to expend public moneys is held to the highest standards. That is what we expect across this House. I also thank the Comptroller and Auditor General for the support that he gives us in enabling us to do this work.

The first thing I will say relates to the importance of the Arts Council. It serves a very important function across our society and it does great works in grants. I work with a huge number of organisations and you should see how happy they are when they receive a €500 grant or a €1,000 grant. The waste that has gone on here is unfortunate because of what that money would mean to these small organisations. Is there anything Ms Kennelly would like to say at this point to those small organisations?