John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is, and that is fair enough, but it seems to me if we are making a decision without knowing fully how long something will reasonably take it defeats the process from day one. This is the point Mr. Watt made in his opening statement. We have a very recent example that belies and makes a mockery of what we already know about how long these things take and the type of the overruns we have dealt with historically in this committee. We are still dealing with tribunals. Every time the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government comes before the committee we ask how much the bill is now. We are speaking about things which have taken decades. I understand from where Mr. Watt is coming, and the point the Chairman is making is very relevant. I understand the analysis and that a memo goes to Cabinet, but do we undertake a proper analysis on how long an inquiry will take and how much it will cost? I still think the answer is no.