Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For the past year and a half the Minister has failed to provide this House with answers to basic questions. When will the contract be signed, when will work begin and when will it be completed? When I have asked him those questions, he made it clear it is not about timing but about getting it right. However, all of a sudden, he has a plan and there are dates and times but my intervention and that of Fianna Fail is going to throw it to the four winds. The Minister should publish the timeline now, if he has one, and stop hiding behind this bluff and bluster.

For the Minister and for me, it is a case of déjà vu. He delivered virtually the same speech tonight that he delivered in 2016. On 6 July 2016, he was on the cusp of signing a contract but 19 months later there is no sign of that contract being signed. On the last occasion, I was convinced to withdraw my motion, as I said, against my better judgment. That was a proposal for the State to intervene directly, take control and ultimate ownership. That was 19 months ago but the contract has still not been signed. The Minister had the gall to repeat the same request and ask me to again withdraw my proposals. In 19 months nothing has been achieved but there is further indication that this is a flawed process. Three companies with the experience and the know-how have pulled away from the process.

It is as simple as this. On that occasion, the Minister fooled 542,000 homeowners but I will not let him fool them again.

See this speech in context