Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

At the end of many of these inquiries and tribunals, we are left with a big bill. There are bills of €68 million and €142 million and sometimes there are very few positive outcomes. In the first instance, we should write to the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ask them, in view of the fact that we are looking at almost €525 million across all of these investigations and inquiries, if they are actively examining other options, if they are looking at international best practice and if they are considering a better way of doing this in the form of a permanent office or agency or some other means. There may be a better approach out there that we do not know about. We cannot let a situation like this continue. As the Deputy correctly said, at the end of it, after a very long period of time, the public sees a large bill. That is it and we move on. I think we have to break that cycle.