Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am looking forward to the day when we have equal gender representation among witnesses, particularly in respect of the children's hospital. I preface every contribution I make at the committee with that comment. It is no reflection on the witnesses, but I am sometimes dismayed by the systems that allow inequality to persist.

I did not welcome the pictures the witnesses from the hospital development board showed us. They seem to have been misadvised on that point. The witnesses are here for the purposes of accountability. We do not need to see photographs of a construction site. What we do need to see is that the right processes are in place, there is proper accountability, we are not wasting any more money and, in particular, that other projects are not affected.

Were the witnesses from the hospital development board advised by a public relations company in respect of their attendance at today's meeting?