Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That was not an answer. As I was driving up today, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, said on "Morning Ireland" that something went very wrong here. I thought it was very honest of him to say that. He said, "I acknowledge my role in that ... we will learn for the future." I would like the Minister to tell me what role it was and what mistakes he feels he is acknowledging. He said something went wrong and he acknowledged his role in that. What is his role in it? What is his Department's role? It is bizarre beyond belief that in the whole of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which, rightly, would fight you for a fiver, in all that time and despite the most senior procurement official in Ireland sitting on the board, nobody ever said during a budgetary process and a confidence and supply process, "Listen lads, we have a very serious issue here." The Minister was kept in the dark about it until 9 November. When the Minister answered another parliamentary question from me, he said he got full knowledge around 19 November. It is beyond comprehension for a project of this size that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with full-time officials working on health, were not asking questions and were not aware. It is just not believable there was not a concern, given the fact we knew there was an overrun of more than €60 million from the year before. It is not comprehendible. If it is comprehendible to the Minister, then we have a bigger issue as regards functionality in the Department. I am sorry. This is not personal but it just is not credible.

The Minister referred to his role in this. What were the issues from which he should have learned or should have done better on, as he said on "Morning Ireland"? How can he say his Department is functionally operating in a way we can have confidence in when it did not have any awareness whatsoever until 9 November, and then, on 21 November, the Minister's officials said in reply to an email that it was the first documentation of which they had heard?

How can the Minister stand over that? Could he please answer the question as to how a Department of Health official could send an email on 17 October to his Department and yet it was 21 November before a meeting was arranged?

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