Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The big issue for me, and it is nothing personal in terms of the two people sitting on either side of the Minister, is that, to the best of my knowledge, both Mr. Desmond and Mr. Breslin were on the steering committee. They became aware in April that there was an issue with a potential cost overrun. Ms Tracey Conroy asked for a memo to be sent to the Minister in, I believe, May. That memo did not reach the Minister until August, yet the board was reappointed in June. I do not know if Mr. Breslin or Mr. Desmond want to answer this question, but one of the questions I have is why those issues were not brought to the Minister's attention knowing that the board was being reappointed in June and that there were issues that had not crystallised but which we knew would arise in regard to cost overruns. There was a request by an official in the Minister's Department that a memo be sent to him prior to the reappointment of the board. That memo was not sent. The Minister went away and reappointed the entire board. He did not ask any questions of the board because he clarified that in a reply to a parliamentary question. A request was submitted and he decided that he would reappoint the board members. There were no questions asked and progress reports were not requested, yet Mr. Desmond and Mr. Breslin were both aware of the position. I accept they would not have been aware of the extent of the overrun at that point but they would have been aware that issues were coming down the line. Why did Mr. Breslin and Mr. Desmond not convey that to the Minister given that one of their colleagues had asked for a memo to be sent to him?