Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Both the Joint Committee on Health and the Committee of Public Accounts expected to see that report.

There was a change in the attitude of the Department. There was also a change in the Secretary General of the Department. We have had previous engagements at this committee with representatives of the hospital development board and we have gone through, in some considerable detail, some of the issues relating to how the costs were escalating. For the life of me, I do not understand why there has been a change.

I did not visit the hospital, as it happened. I totally appreciate the need for the hospital and that it will be built on that site. I do not need to be convinced that we need the hospital and I do not need to see the design of the hospital because several of us have been through that issue, over the years. I want to get to grips with how these costs can be contained and the history up to now.

I know we are going to get a rolling rundown of the costs by virtue of the fact that the Comptroller and Auditor General will be doing audits. Those audits will leave us a year in arrears, so to speak. It does not appear that there is going to be any change in attitude from the Department in terms of coming in. We are still getting the same advice that it is not wise to be having any discussion at all on this matter. If we are bringing Department representatives before the committee, what are we bringing them in to do? That is the question. I find it unacceptable that we cannot have a frank discussion about containing the costs of this project and how these costs have arisen. We know there has been a problem with the two-pronged approach to procurement already. I find it unacceptable that we cannot have an open engagement on this matter.