Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. That could be very useful as this goes on. Unusually, yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to the Taoiseach outside the House. The only thing more breathtaking than washing €160 million of taxpayers' money down the toilet bowl was the breathtaking and contemptuous disingenuousness and dishonesty of the Taoiseach's response. How can he grow so far removed from people who get up at 6.30 a.m. to commute long distances to work to pay their taxes and stand over his Government wasting their money in this fashion? How is it that no Minister in his Government ever takes responsibility for anything? How is it that the Taoiseach cannot come into this House for a change and admit there has been a monumental cock-up, a Niagara of waste of taxpayers' money, instead of making snide remarks about Deputy Kenny's facility with sums, misplacing the dateline for the origins of this project, telling the House it is not an IT system and simply trying to stonewall his way through it?

This is exactly the same circumstance as we have had with so many other projects. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, thinks it is enough to go on television and say the Government will take a hit on e-voting. It is not the Government that will take the hit but the taxpayer. The Tánaiste came in and said the Government would put its hands up if it finds it is wrong. She has not been able to take her hands down since she took over from the former Minister, Deputy Martin. It is one disaster after another. This morning I heard the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, say €160 million was only a small fraction in the context of the health spend since 1998.

Another €160 million would build another Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Tallaght. Is that insignificant? To top it off this morning, we had the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, the last man standing to defend e-voting.

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