Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Lahart raised the point of what David Gunning said with regard to the €107 million. His exact words to the committee were:

We have issued our notice of dissatisfaction. Our claim is that the conciliator, in making those awards ... has made fundamental errors in that award.

That was his exact position in terms of the €107 million and the conciliator’s role in that.

Deputy Lahart rightly focused on that point. For very good reasons, in the Oireachtas and in the media, we tend to focus on what is not working, as we should. However, we spend very little time on what is working. From a public confidence perspective, not so much in this project but in healthcare capital expenditure overall, it is worth saying that the majority of projects are delivered on time and are state-of-the-art facilities. I have opened primary care centres all over the country, the new hospital is being built and there is a capital budget for health going into next year of €1.4 billion, and that €1.4 billion will be spent well. For example, the Portrane forensic mental health hospital is on time and on budget. We do not hear about those things. It is important for the public who are listening to understand that while this project is an outlier, and it absolutely is, taxpayers’ money for the capital projects in health is treated with respect and the projects that people will never hear about tend to be delivered on time and on budget.