Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending an excellent initiative between Dundalk Institute of Technology and Dundalk Football Club with the launch of a joint student scholarship that will commence in September 2014. Four scholarships will be offered each year to both CAO candidates and mature students who wish to pursue third-level education while simultaneously pursuing a professional soccer career playing at the highest level in the Republic of Ireland. It is a fantastic opportunity and will provide successful candidates with an opportunity to embark on a clearly defined playing, academic and personal development career path. It will be a win-win situation and is another positive step forward for education and our young people.

I wish to express my continued anger at the further revelations last week at the Committee of Public Accounts regarding Mr. Paul Kiely's pension arrangements at the CRC. I was sickened by the latest revelations and wonder what else is to be revealed in the coming weeks and months. I commend the Committee of Public Accounts on its work to date in securing the answers it has received. We must all agree on the benefit of the committee and the work it has carried out and committee work in general. The revelations last week have opened up yet another can of worms. I found the lack of remorse shown to date by these individuals particularly sickening. I welcome the news over the weekend that the former board members will all be called back before the Committee of Public Accounts. It is dreadful that they have played this game of cat and mouse and answered questions in the most indirect way. I feel so sorry for the people who need the services in the CRC the most, and the front-line workers who are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and are working above and beyond the call of duty to provide support and care for the disabled. Deserving charities have reported immense reductions in their fund-raising capabilities since these dreadful revelations. Many of these charities depend on public donations for survival. Again, I add my voice to those of others to encourage people to continue to provide support to charitable organisations.