Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as I can. I thank Deputy Donnelly. We have spoken much about votes this week and people are forgetting what they voted for in this House. We passed the Children's Health Act 2018, which gave new powers in how this board is appointed. It set new criteria for how the board should be appointed and we have appointed a new chairman of the board, Mr. Fred Barry. Mr. Quinn is spoken about in this House and there are statements made about him that are not very fair. He served for six years. The chairman went into a new board and looked at how to augment the skill set, considering how the project was transitioning from a build project to commissioning and opening facilities. A number of members of the board decided that now was the time for them to step down. There was no secrecy around this and it was advertised on the Public Appointments Service website, in line with the legislation for which Members voted that dealt with how those appointments would be made. Deputy Boyd Barrett seemed to suggest Mr. Quinn was the chief procurement officer for the project but that is not the case.

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