Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We must do things differently. Mr. Bob Wright referred to problems such as people operating in silos and projects not being properly examined, leaving us with a project that did not generate a return, with the debt incurred mounting up all the time. There must be a radical change. I was pleased to hear what the Minister of State had to say because we cannot have a repeat of what happened in the past. For years, the public capital programme was just a wishlist, with nothing being available on the economics to indicate why one project was a better investment than another. We are all aware of areas where that was the case. For example, engineers dominated in many infrastructural projects and this accounts for many of the difficulties the country faces.

The lack of expertise in economics was noted in the Wright report. I hope we can get the number up in that regard to compare with Canada which had neither a banking nor a public finances crisis. Some 60% of Treasury staff in Ottawa are qualified to Masters level and above in economics; perhaps that is not a bad idea. I am nervous about promoting from silos and people not keeping up with fast developing subjects. The Minister of State mentioned liberal arts graduates. I am nervous about the culture of generalists in the public service. It served us well in the past, but the country collapsed in 2007-08, which is why we are looking for something new.

I am pleased with the discussion, but it is a major issue for the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister of State that the standard of presentation of the public capital programme heretofore would not satisfy a second year undergraduate. There are further concerns. Recently the Institute of Public Administration which was publishing a book on expenditure appraisals asked me to include an article in it. I said the article had whiskers on it and asked if there was anything more modern that could be included, but there was not. If we spent a fraction of the budget on appraising and publishing it in advance to have it assessed by Ministers, the Houses and independent economists, this would be a significant improvement. That is the culture from which I presume the Bill is trying to move away and it is in that spirit that the amendments have been proposed.

My concern is that people will say the Bill passed through the Seanad on the second last day of the session and that nothing needed to be changed. A lot needs to change. I am delighted that the Minister of State who is in office for just a couple of days is here to promote it. We must do better than we did in the past and this is part of the reform agenda. Reform is happening, but perhaps it might have been done on the first day of this Seanad three years ago. I will not push the amendments, but economics is a serious subject. Mr. Wright found that only 39 out of 582 working in NAMA were qualified at Masters level. This is about large amounts of public money. We cannot depend on wishlists in the hope that it will all work out well on the day. This is about part of an economy that had to be rescued by the IMF. That is the spirit in which the amendments have been brought forward.