Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It would be helpful for the democratic process to allow voices to be raised here, not loudly but out of concern and to raise the level of the debate. That would be helpful, Acting Chairman, if you could manage it with Deputy Farrell.

In respect of this report, it is a moderate, reasonable, rational report. I pay tribute to the Chair and every member of the Committee of Public Accounts who came in every week and dealt with this in the most reasonable way possible. It is unfortunate that, in the end, Fine Gael chose to do what they did in respect of the vote. However, it is appalling, unacceptable and shocking that the Minister for Finance would come in and make the accusations he has made about the members of the Committee of Public Accounts conjuring up something. If the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who is in the Chamber, can stand over that, I do not know what we have come to. It is also a disgrace that the Minister, Deputy Noonan did not stay in the Chamber for the mere two hours of such an important debate, when it was agreed on a cross-party basis, which included his own party, that the more serious issues were laid out in this report and deserved a full inquiry.

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