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

First, I want to thank Deputy Shanahan very sincerely for bringing forward this very important Bill because of the simple fact that oversight is so important when dealing with large sums of money. There seems to be a trend in Ireland in the last ten years that if a project is of a certain size, no notice in the world is taken of overruns and overspends. Take for instance the national children's hospital. It does not really matter if it is less than €1 billion, €0.5 billion, €1 billion, €1.5 billion, €2 billion or €2.5 billion.

There is no end because of the simple fact it is like a blank cheque. That is the fault of the Government and of the lack of oversight. I think of the MetroLink project, the concerns about that and the overruns. It is like it is the Exchequer's money so we can spend whatever we like. That is not right or proper.

I want to highlight prudence and good governance in a case where the right contractor was in place. I was glad to see the Macroom-Baile Bhuirne bypass opened recently. That job came in on budget with no messing or nonsense. If anything, it was ahead of time. We got a massive piece of infrastructure for great value for money. How many times can we honestly say a big project was great value for money? Deputy McGrath is right that we said the children's hospital was going in the wrong place. It went on the most expensive site it could ever be put on and it is a blank cheque. It will be held up forever as being madness.

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