On the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts yesterday, I am astonished by the ongoing revelations concerning the Central Remedial Clinic and the constant drip of damaging information, for want of a better phrase, that is harming the charities sector and hurting donations to many charities at this crucial time of the year. Yesterday was a particularly dark day in this saga, as we learned that €660,000 was paid last year and in each of the past ten years towards maintaining a pension fund that was or was not in place.

This money for old rope, or in this case, money for the maintenance of a rope that does not exist is incredible. However, the bigger issue is how we regulate the charity sector generally. In the new year we should make it our priority to debate how charities are regulated. While I believe the board should resign, in the shorter term it should make itself available to the Committee of Public Accounts to answer its questions. The board should remain in place until the investigations have been completed but it should resigned immediately afterwards. Things are bad enough without eroding public confidence in charities. I only hope people realise that the vast majority of charities are not engaged in this unscrupulous behaviour and are using their funds properly and wisely. It is most regrettable that the front-line users of services, particularly in the case of an institution like the CRC, will be the ones who ultimately suffer.

I join my colleagues in congratulating the members of the Committee of Public Accounts on the work they have undertaken to investigate the debacle in the charities sector. However, none of us should be surprised about this debacle because, tragically, what is being unearthed is symptomatic of a culture which existed in this country for decades. This culture exhibits an unwillingness to organise business in a proper and transparent fashion. We have had tribunals with no outcomes, quangos which were to be abolished and top-ups of all kinds. I trust my colleagues will agree this culture has been a cancer on our society and needs to be tackled. However, as we will not miraculously find a solution to this problem overnight, I appeal to the public to continue giving to the charitable organisations which have done such good work in this country. Every €1 that the public does not give to these charities will have to be replaced by the taxpayer if services to very needy people are not to be affected. We need to have a debate on how we conduct public business at all levels.

Several weeks ago we passed legislation dealing with the funding of political parties. Let us be honest in asking what checks and balances exist in the legislation to prevent taxpayers' money from being used to add to politicians' salaries. There is absolutely nothing. What is sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander; a root and branch review is urgently required of how we conduct our political and private business.

I agree with those who spoke about the Central Remedial Clinic. All I will say is that the board should resign immediately. Yesterday's committee hearing lasted five hours. What went on was despicable.

I hope there will be a debate on wind energy in the near future. An article written by Colm McCarthy for the Irish Independent was quoted at length in the Chamber yesterday. I read the article. Everybody, whether supporting or opposing wind energy projects, should make a submission to the consultation process. The process should be advertised in the newspapers. I have a problem in that it deals with noise, flicker and distance. A report on the economic factors has been commissioned but it has not yet been published. The question arises of whether it makes economic sense. All of those who spoke today expressed negative opinions about wind. One could say I am fine because I live in Dublin but the community has a major role to play in this matter. A person who was asked if he would like to live beside a wind turbine said "No" but he went on to say that he would not mind if it was located a certain distance away. The environment, the economy and communities should be our first priorities. Communities have to be given the facts. A new type of turbine has been developed that when hooded can increase wind capacity by 15% and reduce height by 50%. All of those factors should be in the open. Half-baked submissions will be made if the consultation is not publicised. The subsidies that wind energy companies receive should also be published. I will read the submissions but I call for the economic report to be published. I will quote what Colm McCarthy wrote in his article.