Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed to note that the trial in Egypt of the Irish citizen Mr. Ibrahim Halawa has today been postponed for the 14th time. That is a worrying development. Seanad Éireann should again send our concerns on this issue to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, who I know is doing everything he can to expedite a resolution of this situation.

Like everybody else, I was quite shocked at the contents of the "Prime Time" programme last night with regard to Console. It is a pity because, as Senator Nash and others have said, Console has done some remarkably good work, but unfortunately the good work is negated by the fact of these scandalous revelations. Unfortunately, they are not the only scandalous revelations about charities that we have seen in recent times. There is a simple solution to this. The Minister for Justice and Equality could commence section 4 of the Charities Act.Section 4 of the Charities Act, if commenced, would give the regulator considerable powers to send an investigator into this charity and to demand to see all the books and accounts and speak to all the personnel, including the auditors and everybody else, who have had a hand, act or part in this scandalous abuse of not just taxpayer's funds but funds from people who have worked hard to raise money for the charity. The Minister for Justice and Equality should immediately commence section 4 of the 2009 Charities Act without delay.

The HSE has a serious role to play in this matter. Earlier I heard Deputy Sean Fleming speak on radio. He is correct that the HSE should go to the High Court today to get an order to seize everything to do with the administration of Console. The HSE should also send in people to run Console. This is what the public demands and it should happen. The HSE has an absolute responsibility to deal with this situation today.