Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I support what has been said. I wish to ask about education. Deputy McDonald is correct that the Department of Education and Science spent approximately €2 billion and there are a large number of contracts in that respect, but there are obviously other Departments as well where there are similar tenders and procurement. The PPP sector had its heyday in the past and there were many PPPs in operation, some of which fell by the wayside because they seemed to be controlled largely by the private sector rather than by the State sector in terms of management and timelines. All of those areas probably require a degree of regulation and supervision that has not been in place previously. Rumours and allegations are widespread in terms of the manner in which the construction sector conducts it business. Where public money is spent, it is important to have a tight rein to ensure the systems in place are properly monitored and examined. I would like to see a number of Departments, not just the Department of Education and Science, that are engaged with large scale public funds examined and that they would provide a report. Broader reports are required on tendering, procurement and overall supervision during projects. The reports could come from the Departments themselves in the first instance and then we could have an examination of the nuts and bolts with the relevant bodies that operate the tenders and funding for the work being carried out.