Today, news has broken that Terence O'Rourke is set to be named as the new chair of the RTÉ board. I rise to express my frustration that there is still no chairperson of the Arts Council. On Friday, 1 December 2023, it was reported that the former chairperson, Kevin Rafter, would step down as chair of the Arts Council. He was a very good chair of the council over the past four years. His final meeting was on 14 December. I am sure the Department was aware of his departure well in advance of the public announcement. It is now March 2024 and there is no chairperson of the Arts Council, a State agency with a budget of €130 million. Members are aware that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has repeatedly stated that her relationship is with the chair. That begs the question as to whether there is a threat to the corporate governance of the bodies, organisations or agencies under her remit that are without a chair. Are those organisations experiencing the same level of poor communication we have seen in the relationship between RTÉ and the Department? Why has the Arts Council been without a chairperson for so long? Why are there so many vacancies on the boards of the national cultural institutions? According to a response issued on 31 January to my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, there are 31 board vacancies. Three other chairperson positions are vacant on boards that fall under the remit of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. I hope that does not point to indecision or organisational paralysis in the Department or by the Minister. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for culture to the House to make a statement on appointments to State boards in order to avoid a situation of corporate governance in free fall.

I join with Senator Warfield in expressing my dissatisfaction at the failure of many Departments to appoint people to boards. We are all talking about corporate governance and ensuring that issues such as those that happened in RTÉ never happen again. The Shannon Foynes Port Company has been without a chair for several months. There are other institutions in a similar position. I ask the Leader to ask the Departments in question for a list of the bodies under their remit that have for far longer than appropriate been awaiting appointments to their board. Shannon Foynes Port Company is one such body to which a chair has not been appointed. That is an important decision.

The main point I wish to raise is to support colleagues who have called for a significant investigation into the operation of the acute hospital in Limerick. Notwithstanding what the Minister has done since coming into office, in increasing funding, bed capacity and staffing, the crisis continues. In fact, it has worsened.

I recall a time in the other House when the Minister of the day would be pilloried for having 35 people on trolleys. We now have 135 and it is rising. I do not think it is all political or all about money. I think there is something in the culture in the hospital that sees the situation worsen and deteriorate, which is having an enormous impact on patients and their families at a time when there has been an unprecedented level of investment. I know more is needed. This winter, it is worth noting that the trolley crisis, which we talk about every year, has not really been an issue in any other hospital to the extent that it has been in Limerick. Something is working everywhere else but the problem seems to continue to deteriorate, notwithstanding the significant investment. I think the only option is an entirely independent investigation into the operation of the hospital. Let it be direct and frank. Let it set out an identification of what the problems are. If there is a political dimension to it, let us stand and accept that. If there are other issues with culture, governance and certain staffing across the hospital, those need to be targeted too. I would welcome a debate with the Minister at the earliest opportunity in order that we can thrash out the framework, terms of reference and independent structure of that investigation.