Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Ross, is here. He gave commitments to come in and talk about this harbour company but he did what he has always done. He thought he was smart.

The Minister might have had his hissy fits last week. He made his demands in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to have it signed and he thinks he got his own way. He has transferred it but he will be aware there are corporate governance issues with this company.

The Minister is the man who made a lot of money in the Irish Independentwriting about governance from a nice room up in Agriculture House and preaching and lecturing about corporate governance and finance. What has he done? I am convinced there is a role for the Committee of Public Accounts in relation to this. I will certainly put in a number of questions.

I am aware of the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and I put in a request to the Minister's Department and received an email telling me to contact an individual. I did so today but I have not heard back. That is not the individual's fault. He may be away.

I will deal with a few issues. My interest is in protecting the future of the harbour's estate, its employees, the real estate and marine leisure and related tourism potential. The Minister has responsibility in that area too. My interest is also in protecting Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, its elected members and its executive from unreasonable exposure to a potential of €33 million.

The Minister was aware there was due diligence in relation to this company. He had access to sensitive information about this company. Will he not take some responsibility in relation to that? Is it acceptable that he should saddle Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, with which he is extremely familiar, with this? He constantly sent out newsletters about his wonderful Glenalbyn pool but he did not get his pool or his Garda station. The Minister is running; he is panicking. He does not want lose his seat but he is motivated by the wrong things. He is attacking the wrong people and is not supporting the local authority. Why should a local authority, therefore, support the Minister?

The Minister is preoccupied with the Judiciary, with a little station in Stepaside and with a small swimming pool but he took it out on this local authority. I am putting it to him that he took it out on this local authority because he did not get his way. Hissy fits and tantrums do not get one somewhere. I do not like to personalise it but the Minister likes to give it but does not like to take it.

The bottom line is there are issues, which I will summarise. There is the EU grant and funding issues. I am satisfied and have evidence that the Minister is aware of them and of the repayments in relation to them. He is aware of the corporate governance issues, of which I am fully satisfied. He is aware of the potential financial risk and exposure to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, of which I am fully aware. He is aware of, and gave advice on, HR issues, privately, of which I am fully aware. Is the Minister in support of the trustees and the company's defined benefit pension scheme in respect of the future viability of the scheme with Invesco? Is the Minister aware of a breach of the Code of Practice for Governance of State Bodies? Has he had sight of reports of the audit committee in terms of risk and remuneration? Did he or any of his predecessors follow up on responses to parliamentary questions in respect of directors who were in breach? There were conduct issues. There were repayments to be made. The Minister, the Taoiseach and the Minister's predecessor, the Minister for Finance, are aware of them.

The Minister lectures about transparency and accountability in respect of due diligence and the transfer of operations. What has he done about it? The Minister breezed in with a smile to tell us what he had done. I had already heard it from the local authority. I received a telephone call about ten minutes earlier. I left here when I got the Minister's statement and faxed it to the 40 councillors.

The bottom line is this is not all over. There will be no funding because the local authority will have to be prudent. There will be no funding for phase 2 of Fernhill. There will possibly be no funding for Marley Park or for Glenalbyn pool, and the Minister can lecture about it being ring-fenced. He is not an elected member of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority. The local authority can amend its capital programme at any time.

I do not want to hear a response from the Minister. He has come in here unprepared to listen and to tell us what he has done despite telling us he would come in and listen to us. I am exceptionally disappointed with the Minister.

I will give the Minister the following commitments. I will make further inquiries in regard to the protected disclosures, I will put in a number of freedom of information requests on to these matters and I will speak at his next public meeting. When he has his next meeting about Glenalbyn pool, Marley Park or Fernhill, I will tell the people another story. They will not be hearing about it in the Dublin Gazetteor The Irish Times. They will be hearing from big-mouth Boyhan, who will stand up and be counted and say what has to be said.

Enough is enough. The Minister has let people down. He is panicking; he is running. That shows his inexperience as a Member of Dáil Éireann and a Minister. I am exceptionally disappointed in him and I really do not want to hear excuses from him. He did not listen. He signed off on this and he has come in here to tell us. Big deal; the Minister has achieved little.