Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Likewise, I realise this was not on Mr. Keegan's watch. However, does he have an opinion on the reason no serious internal investigation took place after the McKechnie judgment had been so damning of individuals in the council or the reason no one has been held accountable? In the interests of transparency and accountability, does Mr. Keegan have an appetite for carrying out such an investigation? He stated that although not all meetings were minuted, there is an account of most of the serious decisions that were made. My second question is somewhat similar to that of the previous speaker. Given that so much money has been spent on consultancy fees, did this actually hamper the decision-making process of the local authority? Would the city council have been in a more independent position otherwise? For example, some people thought the city council had an option in 2010 to walk away from Covanta but the commitments made to consultants made so doing more difficult. Now that Mr. Keegan is the city manager, does he plan to strengthen his own teams within the local authority to make the city council less dependent on consultants in the years ahead? Does Mr. Keegan agree the over-dependence on consultants in many areas is proving to be disappointing? I would have much greater faith in the city council building its own teams to deal with matters and it would represent a better value for money for the taxpayer.