Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

Perhaps this should go on into the night. We made a case, but unfortunately the amendment was brought in. That is history now. I welcome the Government's decision to try to reinstate the Freedom of Information Act, but I also acknowledge Deputy Fleming's attempt to bring it in as a Private Members' Bill.

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform in the House. There is sometimes criticism of the Friday sitting, but a senior Minister and a Minister of State are in the House for this debate, which is an acknowledgement of the importance of sitting on a Friday. I also acknowledge the work being done by the Minister of State in the OPW, where he is trying to drive down costs. However, the availability of information goes hand in glove with the driving down of costs, and the public will always demand the information. Sometimes we feel that we are forced to give the information, but if my experience on the ground is anything to go by, the man or woman on the street has a lot more information than we do. In fact, they have it before us. We are trying to drive out suspicion, innuendo and mistrust, and there is mistrust because there is a lack of information. I would like to cite an example of this.

An extension was built in a school in Donegal three years ago and this was carried out through the Department of Education and Skills, costing €450,000. That school has closed in recent weeks. It was a small school, but the extension cost €450,000. A few miles up the road, the good citizens of Carrigans were empowered by the Minister of the time, former Deputy Mary Coughlan, to build their own school. The brand new school in Carrigans cost over €150,000 less than an extension built by the Department of Education and Skills at the same time. People should get the information as to why that happened. The people on the ground are asking why one new school cost considerably less than an extension to another school that was built by the Department of Education and Skills. That is the kind of information people are seeking.

When the McNamara brothers got the contract for the hospital in Letterkenny, people on the ground were saying that the "subbie buster" got the job. The small contractors who were going to do the subcontract work were saying that the "subbie buster" go the job. Why in the name of God did they get that job in the first place? People want information as to whether they had the proper bond in place and the proper documentation. I have heard from a source within the Government that the Government knew at the time that they were going to go bust. These are the questions people are asking. I will ask them on behalf of one particular contractor who is owed €40,000 and had to emigrate to Australia because he was carrying a debt of €40,000. We owe it to the citizens of this State to bring about a situation of trust and to get rid of the innuendo and suspicion.

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