Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a question over €1.3 million. We established that Mr. Buckley okayed the signing of the lease. We established at the meeting in October 2018 that in February 2017 the OPW's chartered surveyor advised him that it had to be recalibrated. We put this deal in the hedge of our own during. I asked Mr. Buckley at the time whether there was any disciplinary process afoot, and he said it was not a disciplinary matter.

The Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform came before the committee some weeks ago and I mentioned this to him. Incredibly, he was not aware of it and, as such, it was not prepared to comment on it. I asked whether we should have a process to deal with cases where people make mistakes that cost €344,000 a year. He said the Department takes the learning experience approach.

Is that where we are at? We signed a lease, despite internal advice and there being plenty of time to recalibrate and adopt the appropriate measurement standard. We are on the hook for €10 million. We are really flowering things up in the fluffy language if we think we have legal recourse when we knowingly, and under the advice of a team, put this deal in the hedge and cost the people €10 million. It is a learning experience.