Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am being careful. The issue is in the public domain. I am talking about it on the basis of an affidavit. The reason I am asking what is happening in the context of Bóthar is that this is not the first time individuals at the top of siphoned off money from a charity for which they were responsible. This type of thing breaks the heart of those who go out and raise money for charity. It also makes people who donate question the motives of such charities and raises questions about others. Bóthar was a wonderful concept. Ours is an extraordinarily generous country. People will lose their trust in some of these charities if these instances continue to happen. This is happening again and again and although it involves a minority of cases it is damaging all the other charities. It is making people angry. I ask that we examine the role of the charity regulator but, equally, that we ensure those at the top are held to account for actions of this nature.