Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let me ask the Minister something. Both of them wrote to me and signed the letter on 4 August 2022. It stated:

As ministers, we are somewhat removed from the day-to-day execution of the process. Accordingly, we have engaged with our officials to understand and reply to the issues that you have raised.

If they cannot have hands-on, then surely this committee should have hands-on oversight of what is going on. That is covered under the very directive the Minister’s Secretary General quoted when he used paragraph 17 as a reason he should not attend. If he had read paragraph 85, he would have seen that the Oireachtas is obliged to oversee public procurement.

I am deeply concerned that we have a process going forward that will cost this country way more than it is costing the UK for a similar service. There is no oversight and nobody is willing to explain to this committee how we have arrived at the position we are at. Why, for example, do we not buy the helicopters and keep them? We are paying for them anyway.