Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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The minutes state it was agreed that the committee would examine the issue of allowance payments as part of its examination of the accounts of public bodies in 2012 and 2013. It was stated requests would be made to all Accounting Officers and accountable persons for details of payments. I have read in newspapers and other forums something to the contrary - that we would have speeded-up hearings in some form, with which I do not necessarily disagree. What I do disagree with is one member of the committee, be it the Chairman or whoever else, dictating in the media and the public domain what the committee will do without recourse to the committee and its members before we have a meeting to discuss what we will do. That is not how a committee operates. Members of a committee should be treated fairly.