Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Adjusting the original estimates to reflect changes in the scale and scope of projects as ultimately constructed would, no doubt, further reduce the gap if not eliminate it entirely. The "Prime Time" programme also compared the outturn cost of a range of projects to initial estimates. In the absence of the detailed "Prime Time" analysis it is difficult to comment in detail but it would seem that the original estimates date back as far as the early 1990s and relate to project concepts that were very different from those subsequently implemented. It would seem that an entire RTE programme was devoted to a comparison of apples and oranges.

Some of the projects used as examples in the "Prime Time" programme such as the Dublin Port tunnel and the south-eastern motorway have unique characteristics that affected the costs. The reasons for the cost increase on these projects are dealt with in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and relate to the technical complexity of the Dublin Port tunnel and the high cost of land on the south-eastern motorway. It is important, to be fair to those involved in the planning and design of major infrastructure projects, to acknowledge that the preparation of estimates at project concept stage is difficult and that it is only when planning is well advanced that robust estimates can be developed. I fully agree with the Minister for Finance that the only true measurement of the cost of a project is the outturn after the tender price is agreed.

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