Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On accountability, the terms of reference were changed so that PwC could identify individuals and individual companies. When we started finding out about the cost overruns in January, I asked the HSE and the development board if any sanction of any kind has been taken against anybody, individually or commercially. Anyone who has worked in the commercial world around big projects such as this knows that if a project such as this in the commercial world overran like this, pretty much everyone involved would be fired. Contracts would be cancelled and there would probably be court cases. None of that has happened. Will the Minister give a commitment that that will not be dropped and that if companies or individuals are involved, they will be held to account? When the PwC report came out, even though we had a debate in this Chamber about changing the terms of reference to identify individuals or, more importantly, companies - this is not a witch hunt - none of this has happened. Will the Minister commit to moving beyond the report and, while we cannot prejudice the outcomes, if there is negligence, that, at a minimum, companies will be pursued in the contracts they have?

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