Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leader for organising for the Minister to come to the House for statements. I heard a number of Senators voice their opposition to statements, but on this occasion it is a good use of time. I will hold my comments on Brexit until later.

I want to raise one simple issue. Last week, RTE, the national broadcaster, did the State yet another service. It exposed a terrible litany of allegations regarding the charity Console and its financial transparency, and raised serious issues about finances in many charities. In Ireland, charities are big business and there are now serious questions about why members of the public or the State should support them.

It was clear from the RTE "Prime Time" programme that there was no clear definitive list of funds given by the State to specific charities.It is a really extraordinary position for the State, and the public, to find themselves in. I ask that the appropriate Minister, or whoever is relevant to this section, would come in or that we would have some debate on how we can regulate and improve the entire charity sector. RTE has done the State service yet again. The programme has exposed a number of very serious shortcomings and I wish to pay tribute to its work- this House should pay tribute to its work also - because it is an important part of democracy and for public broadcasting.