Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)

The witnesses are very welcome. I am back as a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, of which I was a member in the period before 2020.

I noticed that Mr. Gunning referred to the report. It should not be necessary to have training for today. All the witnesses are doing a job and we should respect that. It is our job to question and it should stand on what the witnesses are telling us. They should reflect on the notion that they need training. It is the wrong way to go.

The report from 2019 referred to by Mr. Gunning set out the cost overruns, which were of such significance and size that the report was commissioned. It acknowledged how complex the project was but it also said that the baseline had not been established, basic things had not been done and, therefore, it needed to be changed. Here we are now in 2025 and we are asking the same questions all over again. When I hear the word "transformational" used about a hospital, I think it is fantastic but we need a transformation in the processes so that we do not need to bring Mr. Gunning or the board in here nine times and we do not need to ask the same questions over and over again and we still have no hospital.

I will deal with CHI first. Is a board in place?