Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Mr. Griffin has made an assertion about something that I just said. For me, it is totally and utterly unacceptable for the Secretary General of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to tell this committee that consultants who were retired public servants, in some cases with a connection to the Department, received payments in the order of €146,000 without going through a competitive process. If Mr. Griffin takes issue with the fact that I might refer to that as a "taxi meter" or winning the lotto, I am sorry for any offence caused, but it does not in any way conceal the fact that the process has not been adhered to under the rules set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.