Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for giving me time. I am not a member of the committee and I bow to the better judgment, knowledge, experience and reading of my colleagues. I want to make an observation. We all know there is huge anger among the public but from an objective point of view, this anger is also about the fact we have nurses who cannot live in our country because they are underpaid so we do not have enough of them; doctors are leaving; we do not have enough radiographers or occupational therapists; we have 162 consultant posts not filled; and we have people acting as consultants who have not done specialist registrar training. We now have an overrun of €1.7 billion on a hospital. The Minister might think the issues are mutually exclusive but they are closely connected. There is something rotten in the State. Something is going radically wrong.

I have a very simple question for Mr. Breslin, the Accounting Officer. Is the design team on a flat fee or a percentage of the cost? Are the mechanical and electrical consultant engineers on a flat fee or a percentage of the cost? The cost of Jones Group, dealing with the mechanical systems, has increased by 65.4% and the cost of the electrical consultants has increased by 60.2%.

Are they on a flat fee or a percentage of the cost? The second issue was referred to by Deputy O'Reilly. Will Mr. Breslin tell me about PwC and its objectivity? Has it been involved in any other aspect of the hospital since the first sod was first turned - before, middle or after? I know it is carrying out the investigation.