Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In regard to the tender bid and again I refer Ms Moylan to the minutes of the incorporeal meeting of 24 October, point 8.1 of which states: "However recognising the expertise and experience of Bernard McNamara and if he had some additional information which convinced him that the bid should increased, then the Board agreed that Mr. McNamara could be allowed to increase the bid as he saw fit to a maximum of €437 million". Did that cause Ms Moylan any concern? We all respect and value the public service. We are in lucky in this country that we have a public service that delivers for the taxpayer and the citizen. There is a view that public servants, by their nature, tend to be risk averse and that they provide excellent advice and are very prudent and balanced in their dealings. With the way this situation evolved so rapidly over a period of two to three weeks, surely Ms Moylan's best instincts caused her to put her hand up and say, "Hold on, that is an extraordinary statement to make". This was extraordinary latitude to give one individual in the context of a situation like this. Has Ms Moylan any concerns about how this situation was evolving given her function as a civil servant of some repute and experience? Did a red light go on in her mind about giving Bernard McNamara or anybody this kind of latitude?