Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I apologise to the Deputy and I will reply to his query.

The governance committee of the Irish Red Cross Society is currently examining various issues of governance and I will await the outcome of its deliberations. The chairman is appointed for a three-year term and this is the fourth time he has been reappointed. However, I have been informed that the general view, except for one or two people, is that he has been a very good chairman. I noted much enthusiasm within the society when I reappointed the existing chairman.

As regards the reappointment of the members of the council, the legislation stipulates that the Government must appoint a number of people which is not less than one third of the total membership. This means the Government must appoint at least 14 people because the society's local branches elect 28 people.

As Minister for Defence, I stand over everyone I have appointed. I have taken some pains to ensure that those being appointed would have some contribution to make. I spoke personally to everyone I appointed and I discussed with them their functions and what problems needed to be dealt with. I have tried to ensure that people appointed to these positions would have a contribution to make and they are making that contribution. I will await the report of the governance committee.

I do not wish to deal with the specific allegations Deputy O'Shea has raised. I know the contents of the letter, which has been passed on. Over the years there have been one or two other complaints of an anonymous nature to which we did not lend too much credence. I have received one or two complaints about governance but these are matters for the governance committee. I have not received any specific complaint about underperformance, either at home or abroad.

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