Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Carrigy about his concerns with regard to the Irish Athletic Boxing Association. There are serious questions to be answered around governance in the IABA. I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, is meeting with them this week. The people who I am worried about are the volunteers in the clubs on the ground and the athletes. There are particularly serious issues. There is an extraordinary general meeting this week but the organisation needs to sort out its governance issues. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State has said that he will withhold funding if the organisation essentially does not cop itself on. I am in agreement with Senator Carrigy that many of the current management and governance structures are not meeting the purposes of the sport.

I want to raise the question of the Ahare River in north Wexford which I have raised previously and to look for support from the Office of Public Works.The river frequently floods and blocks access to a significant part of the Castletown area of north Wexford. Wexford County Council recently commissioned an independent flood risk assessment report that made several recommendations, including for a flood warning system, along with other actions. We need the system to be sensitive to nature in the local area but it is also important that roads are not being continually blocked every time there is heavy rainfall. I ask the Deputy Leader to request that the Office of Public Works provide the necessary support to ensure this issue is addressed.

In the context of the public sector pay report, I am aware that many public servants rely on the travel and subsistence allowance. I am also thinking of carers and so on. As a result of the increased cost of fuel, the cost of travel is significant. This impacts across the public service in a big way, but there are also many in the private sector who use the public sector rates to determine mileage. I ask that the issue of travel and subsistence allowances be addressed in the context of the debate on public sector pay.