Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are discussing multi-annual funding. An envelope is provided for three years which allows people to ask what is the optimum time to buy certain products. A new procurement regime is also in place to ensure this happens.

I remember visiting a school in my constituency which was scheduled to be completely refurbished. This was under the old regime. At the end of the year, the school in question spent a considerable sum on new wiring and white boards, despite the fact that the building was about to be gutted. The type of approach is wrong and must be stopped. It was adopted, however, because if one did not spend the money, one lost it.