Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There was some confusion in that regard. The briefing document the Department provided for the committee stated the report had been completed by the Department in 2016 and that the review established that the MANs programme had proved to be effective. In a reply to a parliamentary question in January 2017 the Department wrote that it had "recently finalised decisions relating to the management of the MANs to provide that the current Concession Agreements co-terminate in 2030". It went on to state: "An independent evaluation of the operations of the MANs, including pricing of all MANs products and services to ensure that they are within market norms, is currently under way". The report stated it had been done, but the parliamentary reply indicated otherwise a year later. I am, therefore, confused.