Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is astonishing from a practical point of view. While I do not pretend to have expertise in the field, speaking as a layperson, the scale of impairment on a figure of €40 million is astonishing. I fully accept that this is a new plan for a new site and that time has moved on, albeit not to any great extent in the sense that I have not noticed any radical transformation in health services since 2011 in terms of equipment and so forth. I am not taken or convinced by that argument. It is astonishing that Mr. Pollock has informed us that €35 million of the €40 million is essentially null and void and impaired. I refer to moneys spent on work done on planning, workforce planning, business cases and so on. I accept the impairment in respect of legal costs as the board has entered a new arrangement on a new site. The figures are stunning. I presume we will be provided with more detail on this when the Health Service Executive and Department sign off on it. It is remarkable.