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

We had the Secretary General of the Department before the Committee of Public Accounts and I took the opportunity to speak to him about this. I raised the issue of the report the Department commissioned from Indecon. Before he closed it down, I asked him whether he had read the report and he told me he had not, which I thought that was quite extraordinary. He said he had got a briefing on it. It is not a particularly long report. Having read it, it would not suggest the cost outweighed the benefits; in actual fact, it is the opposite. This is a report commissioned by the Department that cautioned against shutting down something for which there was no replacement. Money is being spent by the Department of Rural and Community Development, which is an early stage in creating an alternative system that would be more limited. The Minister's predecessor at the Department was glowing about it several years ago. It is on the record. I find it extraordinary that a valuable resource has been dispensed with that provided very comprehensive and transparent information.

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