Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

We have been trying for many years, in most areas, successfully, to have proper guidelines in place that are operated carefully and that Accounting Officers, Ministers and officials try to implement. At times, such as when the roll-out of Revenue was carried out, when the payment system for Revenue was changed, and when agricultural issues such as payments to farmers were addressed, it was highly successful. In other areas, there has not been the same success. It is not the case that every time there is an over-run money has been wasted. In many cases, the system changed, developed or was enhanced. In this case, it seems people simply kept on going, although they were struggling to reach the end. As the Tánaiste said yesterday, the open-ended contract in this case was a poor idea.

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