Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is there a difficulty in even getting the information to be able to make determinations? I will not repeat everything that has been said before, which is usually what I say before I repeat everything that has been said before. Although I have been here for most of this meeting, there is every chance that representatives from the TII will end up repeating themselves here. The Chair has spoken to representatives from the TII about the determination and discretion it has had. As regards the maximum charges, outside of the M50, the TII has no discretion. It is what it is and there are contracts.

Earlier, a witness said that it would be disingenuous to not use the maximum charge that is for the M50. How exactly did all the interaction happen? Mr. Walsh spoke about the range of possibilities that occurred in August. In September, there was the conversation with the Government. What did that look like? What exactly happened there? The argument has been made that the TII should have known, and maybe it should, that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. However, I could easily make the argument when the TII told the Government about the decision, that the Government would have been able to make the determination that there was a problem. It should have acted before public pressure and the Private Members’ Business that was tabled by Deputy Darren O’Rourke, which ensured that there was no choice put to do what happened-----