Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is amazing when one sees the different things that come up in different Departments. A delegation from the Department of Defence appeared before this committee to talk about public money the Department spent in respect of the Red Cross. It said that when that Department spends money, it makes sure it is spent correctly. It stated that it did not care what the Red Cross did with the rest of the money that it raised on the back of it and other public money. The Department spent its money and looked after that. We see the same situation here. The Department of the Environment and Local Government spends its €8 million to €9 million from the Exchequer, makes sure it was spent on what it said it would be spent on and then worries no more about it. The problem with that is that the project continued after the Department had spent its money and I think it still had a responsibility as the Department responsible for the environment and local government as costs continue to go out of control. In 2005, when the Department's contract ended, that is when, according to the audit report, there should have been a review in accordance with procurement guidelines as to the client representative that was being engaged and the costs that were being spent yet that did not happen. I suppose the Department did not 'care'. Is that the right word to use?