Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the reforms that the Minister has introduced and I understand his role in this matter, but as he can imagine, people look at him as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and query such issues, which are of considerable concern to many. We have seen cost overruns for quite some time. There are a number of examples: the national road improvement works had an estimated cost of €7 billion but its final cost was €15.5 billion, representing a cost overrun of approximately 125% while the Luas green line cross-city extension had an estimated cost of €358 million but its final cost was €991 million, representing a cost overrun of 176%.

The Minister stated that lessons had been learned and reforms had been put in place. While that is important, this is an issue of significant concern to people and particular focus needs to be given to it. The cost of the national maternity hospital has increased from €400 million to something much higher.

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