Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I meant suspicion in the sense of particular constituencies being favoured and so on. The bottom line is that at least decisions made by politicians are accountable. One can put down parliamentary questions, call in the Minister or have a committee hearing. Often, we set up boards that are independent, and they are so independent that they are unaccountable. Even in terms of appointments, I find that independent appointment boards are often so independent that there is no rationale for their decisions, or one cannot get behind them. At least with a politician, one can say "Why did you do that?" or "Why is there a preference for one over another?" By and large, there has been a reasonably fair distribution of money. I suppose people sometimes look for political kudos for things that are happening in the natural course anyway, and we are all guilty of that. I believe the system is robust. To answer the question directly, no, I would not give the regulator any role in determining where the money is going. Let us keep that to ourselves in a democratic assembly.