Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General; that is crystal clear. The Comptroller and Auditor General is obviously not in the political sphere so we will not go anywhere near that with him. Repeatedly, including again last night, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Taoiseach have said that the representative, the civil servant - I have no opinion or issue with him personally - who sat on this board was acting in a personal capacity. We now know that is wrong and completely and utterly inaccurate. That individual had a responsibility as outlined in the circular to bring it to the attention of the Secretary General and then the Minister.

Very specifically, the Minister needs to be notified "without delay" where "there are serious weaknesses in controls that have not been addressed despite being drawn to the attention of the Board or the Chairperson" or "there is a significant strategic or reputational risk to the State body that is not being addressed". We have an overrun of at least €450 million. It started at more than €60 million, increased to €200 million, increased again to €391 million and then increased to €450 million. Given what we now know and given the responsibilities set out in the code of practice in Circular 12/2010, how could that representative on the board not have brought these issues to the attention of the Minister? They certainly come within the meaning of "serious weaknesses in controls" and "significant strategic or reputational risk to the State body". We need to bring this circular and the opinion given to us here today to the attention of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Taoiseach and ask them to explain and answer how this is the case.