Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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In the first instance, I have a sense that we are in a better place than we were the last time IFI appeared before this committee in July. There is a sense here of an organisation emerging from a crisis. The Minister's intervention, in terms of discharging the previous board on a no-fault basis, put us in a position where we could rebuild. I have a couple of questions but before posing them, I note that in his opening statement Dr. Gallagher said the ambition has been limited by financial constraints. One can see why there would be such constraints. The State has to be confident that the corporate governance structures are in place to allow it to invest.

I note that €110 million was provided for the national barriers programme. That is a really important programme. The future of the nature restoration law is uncertain in a European context but the Minister of State with responsibility for nature has spoken about the fact that Ireland is going to plough ahead. IFI will be absolutely critical, both in terms of the national barriers programme and the nature restoration law so we need to make sure that it is on a firm footing. This organisation has great value and the State is going to use it to deliver some very important public goods but we have to make sure that it is on a sure footing in terms of corporate governance.

I have a number of questions in that regard, the first of which is about the composition of the board. The board is now fully constituted. I want to check that the information on the members of the board, as published on the website, is accurate so I will run through the list now. Professor Tom Collins is the chairman and the members of the board are Ms Maria Graham, Ms Jackie Maguire, Mr. Raymond O'Dwyer, Ms Aebhín Cawley, Dr. Jonathan Derham, Ms Karin Dubsky and Dr. Paul Leo Connolly. Ms Lorraine O'Donnell is the staff representative on the board. I take it that information is up to date, so we have a fully constituted board now. The board is in business and ready to work, which is good. I take it the board has been quorate, able to meet and able to make decisions. The board was constituted on 16 January 2024. How often has it met since then?