Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak as Gaeilge nó as Béarla but I will speak in English so other people may understand because this is such a crucial issue. These were jobs advertised by the Government and particularly the Fine Gael Party as high-tech jobs. I understood this to be a high-tech processing facility. It turned out to be a waste-collection facility and I was surprised that public money would be available to give jobs in what was basically a waste-processing depot. Essentially, rubbish built up on these premises over a very short period. The facility was announced approximately two years ago, up and running some months later and closed before the general election. It is over a period of a year or less that this money from the Department was dished out. Údarás na Gaeltachta dished out six-figure sums, with more to come, and it seems it was very easily given. I have seen some of the correspondence on the certification that had to be given for the jobs and it was extremely minimal. I have no doubt there were jobs there at one point - there is no question about it - but the information that had to be given by An tÚdarás by the company was the bare minimum.

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