John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State gave me a note on the flood relief scheme in Kilkenny. He went back over the history of it. I recommend looking at the original tender, which was far less than €42 million. I am not saying this to embarrass anyone but we should explain to people how it can move from €4 million or €5 million to €42 million. It is worth showing the record of how that project was delivered. It was a fantastic scheme, even though there was a huge difference from start to finish. That would help people to understand. In Kilkenny during that project, the River Nore was diverted and trucks forming part of the construction team were driving up and down the bed of the river. There is a record of it. It explains how these jumps in cost can occur. The Minister of State tries to justify the cost by saying it saved 200 properties but he is not doing himself justice; it saved an awful lot more than that. It has been of huge benefit to way more than 200 properties. I am trying to be helpful.