Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will remember that we discussed in the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform the Carillion example and what it cost people. This has major implications for finances for the State for the next 25 years. One contract signed in 2020 was valued at almost €600 million. These contracts typically mean that the public pays a lot for very little control.

We cannot even have a real debate due to the complete lack of transparency and accountability. I cannot access the estimate of the cost of any of the 11 projects due to the commercial sensitivity involved. The value of the contract is only made public after it is concluded. Even then, the Government refuses to provide an estimate of how much it would cost to build under a normal contract. That information is withheld for five years, long enough for any Government to avoid real accountability. Accountability, transparency and value for money are at the core of all of this. We have seen what has happened in the case of Carillion and in other cases. We are not getting value for money with many of these projects and we do not have the transparency that is required.

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