Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

I have a very simple question for you, Chairman. Why is the Wicklow county manager not before this committee or the Wexford county manager not before the public accounts committee? Deputy Byrne referred to the work of the public accounts committee and she is absolutely right. Why is the Louth county manager not brought before the public accounts committee? It is 2025 and these guys are hiding behind legislation that has been knocking around since Job was a boy. It is about time the county managers were brought in here and made accountable for their actions because in local authority chambers up and down the country they are not accountable, and I have a huge problem with that. We are voting through billions annually from this Oireachtas to local authorities and, miraculously, every single one of them gets a clean bill of health every single year from the local government auditor. I believe in a lot of things but in that I do not.