Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note a couple of things in the Minister of State's statement, particularly with regard to the decision-making process. It is stated very clearly that this is a group of independent bodies that acted jointly and came out with exactly the same strategy at exactly the same time. There was obviously very significant co-ordination on this matter between the board and those independent bodies. It is extremely unfortunate that all of this was done without the input of the volunteers.

There is no doubt that Covid has changed much of the way we operate but, as a volunteer and someone who works in the community, I am noticing that people want to engage with people face to face. That is really important. While we support the new digital way of working, it is really important that we retain that face-to-face contact.

I welcome that there is going to be a review and that it is to include external and internal stakeholders, including current and past volunteers. I hope it is an acknowledgement that a mistake was made in the first instance and that, if such a massive change is to be embarked upon, it is critically important that the people who matter, the staff, volunteers and people who use the service, are all engaged with before any major decisions are made.

I welcome the fact that the board of the CIB is talking about the highest quality of service, whether provided in person or by phone, but I hope that is not meant to imply that the service being provided previously was not up to professional standards because all of the people who have engaged with the service over the years have found it extremely professional and well run.

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