Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

What is at the core of all of this is that people's confidence in institutions of the State is being completely eroded. We can go back through the history of many of the tribunals that we had, and the overruns in what they actually cost. The IBRC commission of investigation and what is costing is like a runaway train. It is as if, when people are working for the State and when they are engaged by an arm of the Oireachtas to carry out some function, that they literally have a blank cheque, there are unlimited resources, it can take as long as it likes, and it makes no difference what the outcome is because it is only all a puff of smoke at the end of the day. The people actually never see any good for their money. They do not see any meaningful results. If there are not going to be meaningful results, would it not be a fine thing to spend the money on something that would produce a result for the hard-pressed taxpayers of this country? People are suffering at present. The one thing people want to see, feel and be assured of is that when their money is being spent, it is being spent wisely and prudently and that they are getting value for it. Looking at our track record, and what we have done with investigations and look-backs, we are looking back so much that we will fall over what is in front of us. We will not see what is in front of us because we are so hell-bent on looking backwards. It is actually a massive industry. It seems to be a very lucrative thing and the people involved are making vast amounts of money, giving vast amounts of time and coming up with very little at the end of it all. All I want to say is that now is the time to call this out for what it is, which is, to be honest, a waste of money.

See this speech in context