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

There are other documents related to this matter which the Department is going to send to the committee, including the documentation on the underlying agreement. We want the information on the way in which the amount Bus Éireann would have to be paid should the contract be wound up was arrived at. We will have the total information on who made the arrangement and how it was arrived at. We want all the information relevant to the school transport system to allow us to examine it in more detail and, if necessary, pass it to the Comptroller and Auditor General for his view. The question of whether the agreement should be subject to a proper tendering system is something we may look at depending on the information from the Department. I am not satisfied with the way the system is operated and the lack of a proper tendering process.

The Department wrote to the committee on 27 February 2013 on VECs. We would like further information. One of the concerns I raised in the past was on the legal costs of actions taken or advice sought by VECs. The Department might ask VECs, particularly those which have spent a great deal on legal services, the reasons and the detail of the tendering processes in that regard.

Deputy Seán Fleming referred to the building programme. I am anxious to know about the Loreto Convent project in Kilkenny.