Mr. Francis Doherty:

While I was at the Peter McVerry Trust, it did not happen. That term was agreed after I left. In September 2023, I attempted to put independent people onto the board of the Peter McVerry Trust who were not associated with or related to the previous role holder, but that was rejected. The ability to appoint people to the board was available to multiple agencies at the time, but nobody took up that opportunity.

The Deputy also referred to the issue around oversight and State funding going into the organisation. As I alluded to in my opening statement, there were multiple entities carrying out audits - Tusla, HSE, the DRHE and local authorities - and coming into the organisation at different points.