Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes with serious concern the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for 2005 provides continuing evidence of shocking waste and overspending on a range of public projects as well as the ongoing recurrence of serious tax evasion;

deplores the continuing incompetence, mismanagement and failure to ensure that taxpayers get value for money, highlighted in the successive Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General;

condemns the failure of the Government to take any action to ensure better value for money since the 2004 report was published at this time last year; and

calls on the Government to implement the proposals for reform of public expenditure management set out in "The Buck Stops Here", published by Fine Gael and the Labour Party to overhaul the system of public expenditure management, including the need for:

clear lines of accountability for Ministers in the discharge of their duties;

enhanced capacity in the Civil Service in terms of professional skills and training in the management of major projects;

a major overhaul of the expenditure evaluation process;

the establishment of a gateway system for major capital projects;

clear transparency when Ministers intervene to fast-track projects;

the establishment of a public buying office to manage public procurement;

steps to ensure that public bodies are accountable to the Dáil through Ministers;

reform of the Estimates process to make it more timely and enhance Dáil scrutiny of public expenditure before it takes place, including the establishment within the Dáil of an Estimates Commissioner; and

reform of the entire budgetary process to sharpen the focus of spending on strategic priorities, value for money, delivery at the front line and to ensure tax reliefs represent good use of taxpayer money.

I wish to share time with Deputies Bruton and Olivia Mitchell.

During this afternoon's events, when the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, was seated beside the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, it was noticeable that neither joined in the general clapping.

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