Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about his prodigal Minister, sitting beside him, the Minister for Transport, particularly in the context of the EU Commission report today about Irish women being at greatest risk of poverty in the European Union compared to other member states. It is important to examine how we use public money. Has the Taoiseach anything to say with regard to the loss of public money such as money lost on electronic voting machines, €52 million, and storage of €680,000 per annum, rising to €1 million if we include maintenance, for machines which it seems will never be used? I raised the issue of the escalating costs for the upgrade of the M50 previously. Over a few months the costs have risen from approximately €200 million to €800 million, an enormous increase. Also, should a PR consultant effectively charging twice as much as a rival PR consultancy company be hired? On the issue of public money ——

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