Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not intend to discuss the court case. I did say to the Minister of State that I expect him to respond to me outside the meeting. We are entitled to a response. The SAR issue is before the courts, as my colleague has pointed out. The issue is that for two and a half years, we tried to get officials from the Minister of State's Department to come before the committee and answer questions. That has led to the situation the State now finds itself in, which is likely to cost the State money.

I seek an assurance from the Minister of State that he will ensure that his Department, and the areas for which he has responsibility, come under the oversight of this committee. We have been refused oversight in certain areas for over two years, and that is grossly unacceptable by any manner or means. I am not going to put the Minister of State on the spot today and ask him to commit to anything. I ask him to go away and reflect on the matter and to read the communications from me and the committee from the past two and half years. I have a letter signed by the senior Minister and the Minister of State's predecessor telling me that as far as SAR was concerned, they had no oversight because they did not know what was happening but they trusted the officials to do a good job. That is grossly unacceptable, and I believe it has led us to the situation we are in now. I am not going to pursue the issue any further because, as I say, it is before the courts. However, I would like some assurance from the Minister of State. He is a very hands-on Minister who is not afraid to take on challenges.

Members of the public are entitled to an answer as to why the cost of the MetroLink project has gone from €3 billion to €21 billion. They are entitled to an answer about the €99 million that has been written off. The money is gone and is nowhere to be found. Even the DART project involved a waste of €32 million. How is this happening? In the view of the Minister of State, is it the case that committees such as this one do not have the oversight they should have in order to ensure things run according to plan? There are examples of money going out of this country hand over fist right across the areas within the remit of committees. The Committee of Public Accounts looks at ineffective expenditure. One of the questions that has to be asked is why we did not buy the five helicopters we use for SAR and let the contractors fly them. The contractors leave when the contract is up, and take the helicopters with them.