Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As no other Deputies are indicating, I wish to make some comments. Deputy Verona Murphy indicated that huge lessons will be learned. No lessons are being learned whatsoever. The attitude and approach by everybody who is involved to this committee and in turn to Irish taxpayers is nothing short of scandalous. I say that with a heavy heart. The Department of Health, the HSE and hospital board are accountable to the Oireachtas, but nothing in the engagements we get suggests any recognition of the importance of that. They have refused to provide documents to this committee. The people who are overseeing a substantial infrastructure project, in this case a children's hospital, are unable to say well over halfway through the project what they think the final cost will be, and have refused even to provide an estimate. The delay in providing documentation to the committee, including opening statements, presents me with considerable concerns.

This committee will need to deliberate on how we approach this issue further. Our rationale - the reason we hold these meetings and engage with the witnesses in both written form and through public hearings - is to try to elicit information. That is clearly in the public interest and fits entirely into the remit and statutory and constitutional obligations the committee has. We have not been in a position to do our work because of the refusal of the Department of Health, the HSE and the hospital board to be frank and forthright during our deliberations. It is important for me to put that on the record.

In the absence of anybody else indicating-----