Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are back to the issue of accountability, but now it is accountability in the context of people's lives. It is also in the context of the future of a family. They made the decision based on the protection of lives and now they are being treated in this manner. If there is a defective vehicle, of whatever type, the responsibility has to go back to the manufacturer, but it is fighting with money. Every large business, whether international or otherwise, does that. It is easier to fight these cases and push them. The Government does it as well, as does the HSE. They all do it. They use their money to fight things to push them down the line and hope they will go away rather than fix the problem.

Here we have three more defective vessels. Imagine if one of our brothers or sisters was on one of those vessels and we knew they were defective. The Government now knows, through this committee, that there are defective vehicles. The responsibility has to come back to somebody. Please God, nothing will go wrong, but we know something is wrong. With all the will in the world, the Government has to intervene here to make sure somebody is held to account and to fix the problem. If that protects one life, it will be worth it. If you make a mistake, you have to own up and try to fix it. The problem is that if you make a mistake in this country, it is about fighting it rather than saying that you got it wrong, that you are sorry and that you will fix it. If we had a lot more of that among Departments, we would have a lot fewer cases and we would waste a lot less taxpayers' money. They are using money to fight the good.