Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy Leader is welcome this morning. First, I express my sympathies to the people of Türkiye and Syria on the tragedy there and the unfolding rescue and recovery attempts following the devastating earthquake. While we have issues in this country, thankfully we do not have such geological incidents that cause the hardship and devastation we have witnessed in those countries. I also express our sympathy to the Turkish ambassador and representatives of Syria on the suffering of their people.

I have raised issues surrounding Inland Fisheries Ireland on many occasions and I call again on the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Department to make emergency appointments to the board of this organisation. The board is down to three members plus the CEO and staff representative. They have the bare minimum of five but in dealing with certain other issues where the CEO is ex officio, the board does not have sufficient numbers to carry out its statutory function. I mentioned previously that five members of the board have resigned since April last year. Questions have to be asked regarding the functioning of any board where five members have resigned. The Minister needs to take a more hands-on approach to this matter and make emergency appointments to the board to allow it to carry out its statutory functions and to continue the investigations it was involved in prior to Christmas and just after prior to the sudden, unexplained and questionable resignation of the interim chair in early January.

An investigation is taking place within the Department; it is the first time I can confirm that. There is an investigation under the Department's protected disclosures policy. It is not the allegations that myself I and other Members of the Houses made last September that are being investigated. They were initially being investigated as a protected disclosure but it transpired they were was not a protected disclosure because the person who contacted us was a former employee of Inland Fisheries Ireland, not a current employee. It was, therefore, not a protection disclosure. Nonetheless, it is being assessed under the protected disclosures policy. In some ways, that has been said to the Minister to frighten him. The comment is also thrown out that there is a Garda investigation. Whether there is or not, in my view there is not a Garda investigation into the people who should be investigated but that is beside the point. I call again for emergency appointments be made to the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland to allow it to carry out its statutory functions and to continue the investigations which it was engaged in. It is incumbent on the Department and the Minister to ensure there is an independent investigation. There is an investigation but my concern is how independent it is. Is it an internal departmental investigation or is it a truly independent investigation? That is my concern and one that I continue to raise here and with the Taoiseach, the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.