Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree that the hospital is needed, but I want to quote something else the Tánaiste said. On Newstalk in 2019, he stated: "It's scandalous that the Government - or rather the Government's agents - got the estimate ... so wrong." Nobody is disputing that the hospital is needed. Indeed, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who is sitting behind the Tánaiste, wrote to the Minister for Health seeking an update and clarity on this. There is widespread concern about the escalating costs and the escalating number of claims.

We were given an assurance that the hospital development board would appear before the Committee of Public Accounts and the Joint Committee on Health. There does not seem to be any clarity on this. What seems to have changed is that there is a new Secretary General in place, who is giving cover in respect of the board's appearance at these committees, saying that even a hypothetical discussion of this matter will prejudice the project. Have the vacancies on the board been filled? If not, an under-strength board is hardly what is required for a project of this size that has been out of control.

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