Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. His statement was very brief. I acknowledge we had an opportunity to engage with the Minister at the joint committee. I am not a member of the committee but I substituted for Senator McGahon.

I was contacted by a former board member on foot of that meeting who stated:

I would like to clarify my reasons for resigning from the board. My sole reason for doing so was due to the lack of full adoption of the IFI of its legal role as a competent authority under the habitats directive as well as the poor response of IFI to its role under the water framework directive. As a professional ecologist who trains public authorities, engineers and other ecologists in the legislation, I could not in good conscience continue to serve on the board under those circumstances.

The issues at IFI were not, as implied, personality clashes but functioning of the organisation in relation to its statutory obligations.

That is from one board member who did not have a beef, as it were, with the CEO but with the overall management and functioning of the organisation in terms of habitats and water framework.

I served in the Department previously and the Minister will be aware of the difficulties with salmon stocks and the issues and ongoing debate in relation to trout and pike. As he highlighted previously, the Minister, in a previous role, established IFI under the Act and removed the regional fisheries boards. That was not a positive move for angling. I acknowledge it was done as a cost-saving measure in different times but IFI has not been a positive construct in terms of the local decision-making powers the regional boards had.

The Minister mentioned that a report will be published in six months. The difficulty I have with that is that I and other Members made disclosures or provided information to the Department and the Secretary General six months ago and, six months later, effectively nothing has happened. There are two investigations, if you like, but now the Minister is talking about this investigation taking six months. We are talking about a year of delay in getting to some sort of conclusion on this matter.

I highlighted previously that any individual who applies for a job in a State agency has a legitimate expectation to be treated fairly, be given a fair crack of the whip in an interview process and have his or her application taken seriously, and that the best man or woman for the job would receive the job. That is a legitimate expectation that people have.Unfortunately, I and others have submitted to the Department evidence, which both Mr. Barry and Mr. Neely now have as de facto replacement board members, in respect of the appointment process within Inland Fisheries Ireland. My concern is that, six months later, appointments are still being made to senior positions in IFI where I believe there is undue interference in those job applications or in the interview processes. There are plenty of people, therefore, who applied for jobs and who now, in my view, should be taking legal advice as to whether they were treated fairly or got a fair crack of the whip in applying for those jobs. That information has been with the Minister's Secretary General since last September. That information is with the de facto board, and the two new members, Mr. Neely and Mr. Barry. It is in the possession of a number of Members of this House, a number of Members of the other House and a number of journalists, yet appointments to senior positions in IFI are still being manipulated.

I am concerned that we are talking about a delay for another six months to produce a report, despite the fact that the Department has information that calls into question the fairness and the processes in respect of the hiring of staff. That is the most serious allegation. It is about the coaching of individuals. It is about the availability of text messages and emails that show that individuals were being coached for positions by individuals at a senior level in IFI. That evidence is there in black and white in text messages and emails. That interference is, I understand, still going on. It is not fair, right or proper in any State agency. The Minister has indicated that he is taking a hands-off approach and has provided information to the Department, but, whether or not he knows, his Department knows and the new board, Mr. Neely and Mr. Barry, knows. This needs to be dealt with quickly. Six months is too late. I do not see any reason why this could not have been dealt with before Christmas, a long time before now. It needs to be gotten on top of.