Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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We have been trying to follow the process and read what has been happening behind the scenes for the past three years. The past few weeks have seen startling revelations. What we have been told publicly by Ministers and so on has not matched what has been happening behind the scenes, some of which we suspected.

I wish to ask about governance. I would like the delegates to keep their answers short, as I have a number of questions to ask and they will appreciate this is the first opportunity we have had to ask some of them.

There will be nine representatives on NBI's board. At a recent morning briefing by officials in the Department, we were presented with a diagram. One of the board members will represent the Minister and the taxpayer. The taxpayer is putting in up to €2.95 billion. According to the Taoiseach today, Tetrad is putting in €175 million. It has only come into play in recent days or, rather, we have only been told about it in recent days. The entity has changed numerous times in the three years I have been following this process. As far as I can ascertain, Granahan McCourt is putting in a maximum of €45 million in working capital. The taxpayer is investing up to €2.95 billion but will only have one representative on the board. I do not know whether any of the delegates has ever been a member of, for example, a residents' association, sports club or some other committee. I do not mean this to sound smart, but if there are nine people at a committee meeting and a decision has to be made, it can come down to a vote. If there are eight people representing the interests of the private investor of €45 million, €175 million or whatever else and only one person representing the 4.7 million of us who inhabit the State, do the delegates believe the governance model is sufficient to provide for the interests of the Government, the Oireachtas and the taxpayer?