Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In a note to Deputies and Senators on 16 May from the private secretary of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, with regard to the focus of the review, it mentions that there is an investigation being carried out from the specific dates of 1 February to 27 April of this year. I have to ask the question why these specific dates were chosen. Are letters of correspondence which came in early or mid-January to be excluded from the debate and the engagement?

I welcome the fact that there will be engagement under this review with all board members and I suggest that they may have a great deal to say. Who set the terms and chose these dates? Did the CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland have a role in this or was it just the Department? Why is the Minister using his powers to investigate the board but not the organisation of Inland Fisheries Ireland?It was suggested in the Minister’s note that reports of significant irregularities that have been identified, including in relation to dormant accounts funding, procurement, vehicle insurance, use of Inland Fisheries Ireland vessels and leasing of the Aasleagh Lodge property, have been previously considered and addressed in statements of internal control. The statement of internal control did not come to any premature conclusions on these items. Some including property lease, procurement and dormant accounts funding are still subject to investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General. All of these issues were very much under active investigation during 1 February to 27 April, so why are they not included in Conleth Bradley’s review? Why was not the Comptroller and Auditor General’s investigation mentioned by the Minister in the note to Oireachtas Members?

In response to reports by ASM Accountants and ByrneWallace law firm commissioned by the board, the CEO stood down the Inland Fisheries Ireland outreach and education operation and refused to accept some €800,000 dormant accounts funding in 2021. The Aasleagh Lodge lease agreement was also ended. Why did the board, with the agreement of the CEO, take these decisions if it did not think the concerns were serious, as outlined in the Minister’s note? If the Minister’s note to Oireachtas Members states that these matters were addressed, why was there no explanation given in the note to Oireachtas Members and why is there no investigation into these matters?

The Minister’s 16 May note also states that it was entirely inaccurate to suggest that an angling club that exists got funding. IFI confirmed the club has a club constitution, bank accounts and tax clearance. However, it did not have those when the fund was applied for or when the fund was approved. How was the funding issued to a club with no bank account? I think it was issued through a third party and I understand that there was an email thread to this effect.

Following thorough investigation by the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland, it was discovered that there were 16 uninsured vehicles on the road at the time of a crash involving one of these vehicles on 10 August 2021 in Donegal. Inaccurate information was presented to the board about the failures within IFI to ensure vehicles were insured. This is evidence of an organisation that is not able to do its basic work.

Why, after all this, is it the board that is being investigated? It is the board that has pursued the truth and carried out investigations into wrongdoing. It is simply because the board did not go along with the CEO and the Department. It was independent, as it should be. It was not willing to bend to the CEO’s will if it disagreed. The Minister, to my disappointment, has agreed to investigate the board, in my view, in the hope that the board will be disbanded and a more obedient board might be put in place.