Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We heard the sorry saga of €180,000 worth of computers and support services bought from a former employee. We heard of failings in Kildare VEC's handling of a €23 million school building development, as a consequence of which the Department had to bail out the VEC to the tune of €20 million. Issues were raised relating to land and property and a school development, with €139,150 paid to an auctioneer in 2008 without a competitive tender. A company was hired to work on a small scheme in 2004 but was kept on as project manager for the larger development and, between the jigs and the reels, the firm earned €830,000 between 2005 and 2011 without the work being tendered for. I know that Mr. Ashe's position was, and no doubt remains, that the Department had sight of all this and was informed, and that the VEC acted impeccably in this regard.