Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity of addressing this issue briefly and I thank the Minister for Health and the two Ministers of State for coming into the Dáil today.

Shock waves have been sent down the spines of the Irish people in recent days and weeks and one of the reasons is that Irish people have shown themselves, time and again down through the years, to be the most generous people on this earth, supporting local, national and international deserving causes.

One of the issues I have concern about is the reports of the recent top-up payments to the chief executive and senior officials in Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross. It is one of Dublin's most famous charities and has been supported generously by the Irish people for many decades. It has been reported that a top-up payment of over €21,000 has been paid to the chief executive and two senior officials. Over a five-year period, that amounts to over €100,000. As far as I am concerned, that is a serious issue. It shows an absence of transparency. It shows an absence of accountability. It shows an absence of respect to the Irish people. My understanding is that this is funded by interest on an investment of over €2 million. The Irish people did not know about that. They deserve to know about that.

I ask the Minister to comment on that issue and state what we can do to ensure that confidence is restored to those charitable organisations to allow the people to continue to provide the generous support that they have been giving for many decades.

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