Mr. Seamus Coffey:

I will briefly come in on a point made by the Chair and Deputy Guirke on projects, estimated costs and the outturns we see. From our perspective, one difficulty is that we do not assess these at an individual level. That is a job for the Comptroller and Auditor General. When looking at some of the projects, it can be difficult to know why the actual cost went over the estimated cost. Was it a lack of credibility in the figures to begin with or was it a poor estimate? Was it a change in specification where we actually got more, which is why it cost more or was it just that the supplier increased the price? It can be difficult to tell those apart.

We have high profile examples of where things have gone poorly but we also have isolated examples of where things have gone pretty well. The issue might be is can we adopt a system like my colleague, Professor McMahon, suggested that encourages that and makes us more likely to move in that direction. One positive project we have seen in recent years has been the development of the second runway at Dublin airport. We see the costs in other countries. Heathrow are trying to develop an additional runway but the cost is running to tens of billions of pounds. In the case of Ireland, we got a second runway at Dublin airport for something in the region of €200 million to €250 million, all-in for the entire project, which is a fraction of what is being spent elsewhere. How did we achieve that? Partly because of long-term thinking. It was not over a two, five or ten year period, it was thinking over a 60-year period. Land around the airport was sterilised back in the 1950s and 1960s and acquired by the airport authority for a runway they did not build for decades. As was asked, how do you incentivise that good behaviour and how can you encourage that?

There are isolated examples of where things are done particularly well. The issue is to embed that into the system and not have issues about figures. As I said, from our perspective, it is not something we assess. The Comptroller and Auditor General can do that. There are a number of reasons for that. Getting behind those would be better. That could get you to accountability so that if you are not delivering on the basis of what you set out, there are consequences? There are examples of where we can do it; we just need to see it more often.