Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. The Minister of State is welcome to the committee. He is new in the job, so I am not aiming any of my comments in particular directly at him.

When we talk about aviation, sustainability and all of these things, as far as I am concerned, that includes everything from the moment I leave my house until I am in the air. I am really disturbed by figures that have been released in recent days, especially regarding MetroLink. A total of €99 million has been expended. I do not expect the Minister of State to answer this today, but I would like him to come back to me with answers. A total of €99 million has been wasted on MetroLink. The estimate for MetroLink was originally €3 billion. It has escalated to €21 billion. That is just unbelievable stuff.

Another area, which I do not expect the Minister of State to speak on today, that has turned out to be a mess and which I predicted two and a half years ago and have worked on for the past two years is the search and rescue contract that was awarded.

We have awarded a contract to, or, at least, we have a preferred bidder now-----