David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I will quote something back to Mr. Finnegan that I found extraordinary. I will not name the individual because I do not think he is in the role he was in. It was the Superintendent of the Houses of the Oireachtas and he was quoted in The Irish Timeswhen it was asking about the costs. He said "As Michelangelo said to the pope, 'It will cost what it will cost'." That is not really an appropriate response when somebody is asking genuine questions about how much a project will cost. I put it in the context of all the other cost overruns, which are outside of Mr. Finnegan's control, involving State money. People take these issues seriously so when a question is asked and the response is "As Michelangelo said to the pope, 'It will cost what it will cost'," that is a very flippant response and almost sounds like saying "Whatever it is, it is." However we are talking here about our money - taxpayers' money. Did Mr. Finnegan see that quote in the first instance?