Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. It is my first duty to congratulate Deputy Mansergh on his appointment as Minister of State. I wish him well in his new portfolio. He played a major role in Northern Ireland, working with many Taoisigh. Living in a Border area, I appreciate more than most where we started from and where we are now. Deputy Mansergh deserves the promotion he received.

I pay tribute to Mr. John Purcell who was Comptroller and Auditor General for many years. The Committee of Public Accounts has done a tremendous job under his guidance and with his involvement. He has done a tremendous job in highlighting some of the difficulties in the financial area and how various structures are run.

I welcome Mr. John Buckley whom I do not know. If it comes back to haunt me in years to come, I do not want to be blamed for his appointment. I wish him well. He has a major job to do. The amount of money involved is absolutely colossal. The health budget is €16 billion, which creates many opportunities for saving and wasting money.

I want to use my time to speak about spending. As I see it, in some areas there is no control over how money is spent. We can examine the Punchestown project as an example. I sat on committees with the former Deputy, Alan Dukes. At the time we were advised by a Minister on how useful the project would be but we were not given all of the facts. The Comptroller and Auditor General highlighted the absolute abuse and waste of money during that project.

The Dublin Port tunnel is a great job but the final cost compared with the initial estimate was vastly different. It is difficult to understand how somebody can be refused home help for half an hour because money is scarce but millions can be overspent on such a project. It is extraordinary that while everybody accepts significant moneys were wasted on the project, nobody was held responsible and nobody's head rolled. A private business would not last very long if that was the practice.

The Comptroller and Auditor General highlighted many issues in the past and, unfortunately, will have no problem finding issues in the future. The other problem with the Dublin Port tunnel is that it is not designed for oversized lorries that carry lightweight product. A company near my home transports plastic containers and the only way to make a trip worthwhile is to extend the lorry and pile the containers high. The tonnage is extremely light but the economic necessity means the containers must be piled high. However, these oversized lorries were not catered for in the design of the tunnel, which is crazy.

Local improvement schemes are a fantastic means of helping those living in isolated areas to have their lanes tarred and brought up to scratch. Last year the money was not allocated until late in the year and my county council, for example, decided to proceed with various works because it believed the money would be available. However, the money did not arrive and the council is being held responsible. This is crazy because money should be allocated reasonably early in the year in order that it can be spent in a responsible way rather than rushing to find ways and means to use it in the final days of the year. Lessons should be learned from this. This issue should not arise every year.

I refer to health issues and Monaghan General Hospital. In his opening address to the Dáil the new Taoiseach said individuals should not get hung up on issues such as county hospitals and that we should grow up and not be naive. I will outline the history of what has happened at Monaghan General Hospital. A new operating theatre was built but it is only in use for a few hours five days a week. A ward was completely refurbished before it was closed two years later and the beds put into storage. A CAT scanner intended for the hospital is in storage. A sum of €5 million was spent refurbishing two wards and €1.5 million on a treatment room for accidents and emergencies. These will all be wound down or closed in the immediate future. The newly appointed Comptroller and Auditor General will have to investigate these allocations but they are only a few examples of the misuse of taxpayer's money. These hospitals can provide a proper service which should continue but that will not be permitted.

I am frightened about how little is learned from the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Mistakes are made and highlighted. The late Deputy, Jim Mitchell, Deputy Noonan and other Chairmen of the Committee of Public Accounts have dealt with reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General but Departments have not learned. As the previous speaker said, people move into positions in various Departments without appropriate accountancy or other skills and do not understand how things should be done. However, no body will be shown by the new Comptroller and Auditor General to have wasted more money than the Department of Health and Children with the support of the HSE. The previous Comptroller and Auditor General reported that a computer system was supposed to be implemented by the Department to make the health service work. A total of €150 million was spent on it before it was dropped. The money was totally wasted.

Significant moneys have been allocated to the Department under the current Minister but cutbacks are being introduced in every area where it hurts, including services for the elderly, the disabled and others who need support. I came across a case recently of a man living in sheltered accommodation. The HSE sent an official who spent hours with him asking 100 questions to establish his need. He was in receipt of home help for one hour five days a weeks at the time. Following this discussion, this was cut to one hour a week. A few weeks later the man fell and spent three weeks in the local hospital. He has since spent a further two weeks in another hospital. This is the type of management we have in the HSE. I do not envy the Comptroller and Auditor General in his new role as he tries to evaluate the abuse and lack of effort on the part of the HSE to use the massive sum available to it.

I refer to the e-voting system which the House was informed would be the be all and end all. A sum of €55 million was wasted and the machines are lying in storage, yet they cost the taxpayer money every week and there is no prospect of them being used in the short or medium term. This happened because appropriate research was not carried out on the system and there was no cross-party agreement. Eventually, this was proved by an independent committee. The money could have been well spent in dealing with issues I have raised frequently in the House. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute.

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