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

The State spent almost €10 million on the Tipperary Hostel project. Various Government bodies gave money to the hostel, which is a partially completed building in Tipperary. I would like to know, on foot of what has happened in this case, how we can protect the money that has already been spent on the project. It has not been completed. It has cost the amount of money I have mentioned. It is lying idle. Work has been completed on the church area but not on the hostel area. The matter has been raised at the Committee of Public Accounts. We have written to the appropriate Department and the other Accounting Officers. Someone needs to make a decision on what is going to be done with the hostel. It needs to be completed so that some advantage accrues from the €10 million in taxpayers' money that has been spent on it. I wonder whether the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has become involved, on the basis of the amount of money and the number of agencies involved, by saying to the various Accounting Officers that the problem in Tipperary needs to be sorted.