Sinn Féin spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has called on the government to conduct a root and branch review of the governance of state bodies. 

Teachta Conway-Walsh said: 

“The RTÉ scandal and questions surrounding Horse Racing Ireland, raise serious concerns about the governance of state bodies. 

“There are hundreds of commercial and non-commercial state bodies covered by a large body of legislation.

“What ties them all together and provides overarching governance is the ‘Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies’ overseen by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. 

“The stated aim of this code of practice is to ensure commercial and non-commercial State bodies meet the highest standards of corporate governance. 

“That has clearly not been the case. A culture of secrecy and unaccountability appears to prevail.

“The code of practice sets out the requirements in terms of financial reporting. 

“We are ultimately relying on a code of practice rather than established laws. 

“I am calling on the Minister to initiate a broad review of the governance framework with the aim of bringing in more robust oversight and accountability.

“People who pay taxes to fund these organisations deserve better and must have confidence that their money is spent responsibly.”