Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. He will be aware that the main cost of public administration is salaries and, as we increase pay across the public sector this year and next year, that is likely to increase. The number of State agencies and bodies, as the Deputy rightly acknowledges, has decreased in recent years but not by as much as perhaps we had intended.

One of the new bodies established was the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board because the view was taken that the necessary skills perhaps did not exist within the relevant agencies to deliver a project of this scale. As a result, a dedicated body was established by the Government and given statutory powers by the Oireachtas to proceed with the project. Perhaps, on reflection, that was not the right thing to do. Perhaps HSE Estates, which has done such a good job on other health projects, might have done as good a job, or better, on this project. However, we are beyond that point now.

In terms of the work being undertaken by PwC, the commissioning of this review was done by the HSE, which has a framework for the provision of professional services to assist in the programme for health service improvement. It provides resourcing and experience to be drawn down from PwC, as required. Under the terms of this framework, it was agreed that PwC would carry out a review of cost increases relating to the new children's hospital construction project. The terms of reference have been finalised and published. The review is scheduled for completion by the end of March, subject to the availability of relevant documentation and personnel and will inform any governance or other changes required.

On the Deputy's question regarding the Comptroller and Auditor General, that was raised at the Committee of Public Accounts on 31 January, including in the context of what information was available to the Department and the group at any given time. It was acknowledged that the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General is to look back on expenditure that has already been incurred. As Deputies will be aware, this is a controversy about €450 million that the Government has decided will be spent in the years ahead. The expenditure has not yet been incurred. So far, between €200 million and €250 million has been spent on the project, and that is on budget and on time. The controversy relates to spending that has yet to happen. We believe it is the right decision to go ahead with this project because suspending it or stalling it could mean that we would have no children's hospital for a generation and because retendering would probably cost more. As already stated, the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General is to look back at expenditure that has been incurred. This expenditure has not been incurred. This is not about a waste of taxpayers' money; this is about underestimating the true cost of the project.

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