Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Given Deputy Bruton's vast experience as a Minister and as a Member of this House, and the fact that we all respect him, could he please be a little more forthcoming on what he assesses to be the approximate cost of delivery and the likelihood? Given that a decision is due in a matter of weeks, there must be some assessment at this stage of the cost and of the likelihood of there being a successful bidder. In other words, the people want to know whether Granahan McCourt will end up being the final bidder and, ultimately, whether they will end up paying a king's ransom through their taxes for the privilege of having Granahan McCourt as the successful bidder. We have reached endgame on this one. We are sick of being told that it is a matter of the tender process and it is secretive. If I picked up the phone to the CEOs of a number of companies or if I scratched the surface hard enough, I would know fairly well that people are talking to each other informally anyway. It is a small town. In fairness, it is a small country. What we want at this stage is for the primacy of Parliament to be recognised and for there to be some straight answers from Government in recognition of and out of respect for our mandates.

I ask the Minister to give us some indication at this stage. If there is only one bidder left in the room, what of the technical appraisals needed to be gone through at this stage of the process? Given that it has gone on for years, if one is close to endgame there must be something that the Minister can impart to us by way of public information to which we are entitled at this stage in relation to the cost, the process and whether there will be a successful bidder or not.

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