David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is where we can understandably be frustrated. I accept what the Comptroller and Auditor General said when he gave the context. If I am reading this right, and I want to be fair to everybody, there was opposition from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the past to publishing the post-project reviews. We then had an analysis, review or examination by the International Monetary Fund. It carried out a review and people would have been consulted. On the back of that there was a change of heart. A different position was adopted by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which is now open to publishing these post-project reviews. That does not excuse the matter or answer the question as to why they were not carried out at all in one of the key Departments, namely, the Department of Education and Skills. I do not believe that Mr. Ó Foghlú has given a satisfactory answer as to why not a single post-project review has been carried out. This goes right to the heart of public accountability. How can we evaluate whether there was good use of taxpayers' money, whether benchmarks which were set were met, whether there were any legal issues or impediments, or whether we got value for money? None of this can be evaluated by this committee because Mr. Ó Foghlú and his Department have not carried out any post-project reviews. Will he take me through that again in layman's terms? He should help me, as a public representative, to understand why not a single post-project review was carried out.