Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I propose to share time with Deputies Neville and Perry. I want to bring the Minister to task in regard to the issues he has addressed in this debate. This is a simple debate on the question of why he wasted so much taxpayers' money in buying land for a prison. That is the subject of the motion but the Minister spent the last 20 minutes defending himself and his position in Government and trying to derail the record of other parties when in government. The visitors in the Gallery are here to discover why this prison is being built on their doorstep.

As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts I listened in utter frustration as this matter was discussed. We are all aware of the reasons put forward by the Minister and the Governments that this prison should be built at Thornton Hall. The reality is that the Committee of Public Accounts, the sole watchdog for the Oireachtas which has monitored the spending of public money for many years, could not examine the wastage for which the Government is responsible in the last number of months. This is where the problem lies. The Comptroller and Auditor General should have been allowed the independent voice to consider whose position is correct on this matter, whether the Minister or RTE.

What is missing in this debate is openness and transparency.

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