Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I heard the strength of feeling on this issue from all Senators. Senator Boyhan raised uninsured vehicles and other issues. These were dealt with by the board and reported to the Comptroller and Auditor General by the then chairperson, Mr. Fintan Gorman. The Minister has reported members to the board of IFI and asked the Public Appointments Service to appoint additional board members. I want to see responsibility and accountability. The Minister spoke about the governance of IFI and the requirements of the two senior civil servants who have been appointed to provide a review of the governance of the agency in advance of a new board being appointed.

Senator Burke said there was no smoke without fire. That is fair enough but there is also a presumption of innocence. We have to have due process here. When there is smoke, one investigates for a fire but one cannot convict someone for arson before starting. The Senator referred to the problems for fishing tourism. Let us be fair; the reason fishing tourism is almost gone is due to water quality, which has deteriorated. The EPA annual report states that only slightly more than half of surface waters - rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters - are in satisfactory condition, meaning they are achieving good or high ecological status and are able to sustain healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants. We all know that this pollution and poor water quality is due to a combination of three main factors, namely, agricultural run-off, forestry and urban wastewater issues.

Senator Hoey spoke about she asked her father for the inside story and so on. As politicians, we all know that one of the most important things we do is talk to people and ask them what the story is. We do not find things out by reading them in documents, searching on the Internet or talking to our staff. We go out and talk to the person to find out what is really happening. As part of this, I spoke to some of the former Ministers with responsibility for this area. They all had the same look on their face. I do not know how to describe it but probably conveyed the message, "rather you than me". There has been a long series of controversies around this issue. As politicians, we deal with personal issues between people who are in dispute and controversies. It is our job to find resolutions and compromise that can work for everybody but sometimes that is really difficult. Many of us have served on difficult boards where personal issues do not converge and just become more and more difficult. That is my understanding, from the outside, of what was happening in this case. It is not something recent.