John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Minister of State about the private sector. It has engaged with the Department where a company or an individual has expressed an interest in providing accommodation. They go through five stages of that process for approval of the property itself. It is accepted that, generally, if they are ticking the boxes, they are expecting to be clear by the time they reach stage 5, but that is not the case. I know of many properties that have ticked the boxes and moved from one phase to the other, and now end up at the end of the process, having spent some of the over €100,000, only to be told by email that the property is not wanted. It is not that it is not up to standard, but just that it is not wanted. Surely there must be a better way of doing business than that? The private sector has responded. It has spent a great deal of money. Now it is left without any possibility of providing the accommodation and getting the turnover that is required. I think that is an unfair system. There are no contracts in it. The Department walking away is not the right thing to do. At some stage, the Department should indicate that it is not going to take it, but it takes it right to the end. It is not just one contract but quite a number. It is not just in my constituency, but all over. To have them out of pocket is not right.