Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important to point out at the outset that ConnectIreland has told us that legal action was never taken between the two parties. There was a dispute and that is not at issue. For IDA Ireland to allege there was legal action and to seek to hide behind the veil of impending court proceedings was very disingenuous. We must be very honest. IDA Ireland is not above questioning or scrutiny, and in this instance it has acted quite dishonourably. Its representatives refused to come before the committee on which Deputy Quinlivan and I sit, which really equates to them giving two fingers to the Oireachtas. The way it has handled a number of its interactions with ConnectIreland is very regrettable.

Is there any way the Minister could facilitate the continuation of the programme while this process is under way, perhaps by means of an interim contract? We have been offered different legal advice from what IDA Ireland proffered, indicating there is no impediment to offering an interim contract. Would the Minister go as far as to have the Attorney General, the Government's legal adviser, look at this? It would be very important not to lose the momentum because ConnectIreland is delivering. IDA Ireland has backtracked on some of the statistics offered in a previous debate and it has acknowledged that ConnectIreland has delivered far more than IDA Ireland had previously stated.

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