Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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How does that make sense? Fundamentally, building materials, labour and maintenance each cost a certain amount. There are prices for these things, there are markets, competition, etc. What explains the difference? Obviously, in the private sector, layers of profit are built in. That is an extra cost the State is paying. All things being equal, this should result in the private sector being more expensive than doing it directly. If it is not, does that not raise a question about how other costs are somehow lower, because there is profit that does not exist in the public sector? How is that achieved? Is it achieved at the cost of cutting standards or wages? Where does it come from?