Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

There is a question about me doing any further investigation. I would have to do that within the powers available to me. Also, I can only report on a matter and opine on the value for money achieved or whether procurement was adhered to if I do it on the basis of having done some formal work. I have looked at the information about this in the public domain and I do not want to be drawn into giving an opinion on it. If there are risks identified related to this, or an indication of non-compliance with procurement guidelines, I would want to look at that as it currently applies in the OPW or the Department, rather than looking at what happened historically. I do not see any great value in using resources to carry out a formal examination and I do not want to stray into reporting in other guises or giving a layman's opinion. If I give an opinion on expenditure, I want to give it as Comptroller and Auditor General, based on work I would have carried out.