Mr. Darragh O'Loughlin:

Would I have done it like this? Arguably not. Was the governance around this entirely as it should have been? Clearly not. However, in terms of the fundamentals of the decision that was taken at that time, I believe in the bona fides of the individuals that they took what they believed were the right decisions at that time for the organisation and for the sport.

Well, it would appear otherwise. I take no pleasure in having to make these points, but it is just flabbergasting when we look at the amounts paid out. As I said, it is not a case of there being no roles to move on to after people work in organisations like the IHRB. I cannot understand it.

I must move to the next line of questioning because I do not think we are going to get any satisfaction in respect of our questions concerning the chief financial officer being absent. Regarding motor running costs, in respect of the figures provided to us, the committee notes there was a substantial increase in the IHRB's motor running costs during 2021. Can Mr. O'Loughlin give us an explanation of why there was a €125,000 year-on-year increase? I note as well that this was during the pandemic, when very little travel being undertaken by anybody. I know that racing continued, due to the hard work of some of the people in this room, and indeed outside it, but this aspect is just a bit peculiar, especially due to the costs of diesel and petrol being quite low that year, to my memory. Will Mr. O'Loughlin please provide an explanation for this increase in spending?