Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Does the Minister understand the rage and fury felt by the public and perhaps nurses when he says he cannot afford to give them a pay increase which they must now go on strike to achieve, while the price paid by the public for the national children's hospital is 250% to 300% higher than the original bid? Does he understand the double standards the public believes are at work? Does he believe somebody should be held accountable?

Does the Minister believe that whoever selected the building contractor in this case has questions to answer about that contractor's record? This is not the first time the building contractor has massively overrun, both in this country and abroad. Is the Department of Health aware of BAM's history? I am not saying anything that is not in the public domain. In Ballyfermot the company built a leisure complex and there was a major dispute with Dublin City Council over a cost overrun of €27 million. To add insult to injury, I believe the tiles of the swimming pool are falling. In the Netherlands BAM built a multistorey car park that collapsed and then there was a protracted battle with the Dutch authorities. A settlement had to be reached on the cost. There was an arithmetic mistake made by BAM on a job in Ringaskiddy involving the Port of Cork Company which resulted in an additional cost of €12 million. For the Beamish & Crawford brewery in Cork, the price tag was €53 million, but then the company asked for an extra €12 million. In Cambridge BAM issued a cost of £116 million for the guided busway, but the figure came in at €152 million. Does the Minister know how a company with that record and questions to answer could have been selected?