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

Everyone seems to be saying "on the basis of the information available to me". That is the get-out explanation. That is how I perceive it. You will have to forgive me; I am only a layman. I put it to you that if I was paying out €1.3 million, I would not be doing it on a nod from someone else. I would be doing it on the basis of an assessment.

We are either saying that the equipment is worth €1.3 million on the basis of the Deloitte report or we are saying that it is only worth €30,000 based on someone else's report. I am asking you what you think it is worth based on what you have read and the details of this complete inefficiency in terms of the spend of taxpayers' money. It is a shambles. What do you think those racks are worth? How does the Department ascertain what they are worth? Does it go by Deloitte or by whoever told the Department they were worth €30,000?