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

I will put this in perspective for Mr. Cahillane. I read his opening statement and have listened carefully to his exchanges with other committee members. The Department and anyone associated with this situation are washing their hands of the issue that lies at its kernel, that being, the poor treatment of the SMEs concerned. What roared out of Mr. Cahillane's statement was an uncaring State. That is how I read it. There is no comfort in anything he has said for the contractors who are now out of pocket. The procurement process did not learn from the past mistakes of, for example, the National Roads Authority and other projects on which there was overspending or which were not delivered. Here we are again.