Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It saved them. It is the Government's duty as I see it to defend the Constitution until a constitutional issue is debated and voted on and a change is made to the Constitution, passed in this House and approved by the President. We can then certainly change the law. We are putting cart before horse with our desire and efforts to denigrate good agencies out there. Most of them are volunteers and not funded by anybody. As I said, I will not accept wrongdoing from any side. The wrongdoing was very much more so on the part of the official agencies paid for by taxpayers. As I said, I was thankful to find out that 16 different parts of the organisation had a desktop examination, whatever that entails. That is what I was told. Six were the subject of a more in-depth audit and wrongdoing was discovered and corrections were made. I could never elicit this information here. I asked four, five or six times of the previous Government to know where the investigation stood but it did not suit anyone to tell me. When it comes from another direction, all hell must break loose. I point out to the Minister again that it is his duty to protect the Constitution until the people decide otherwise.

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