Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

Today I stand before the House representing the voice of the Irish taxpayer who is rightly appalled by the flagrant waste of public money on this and the previous Government's watch. Where is the accountability? Where are the checks and balances in the public procurement process? The buck stops with the Minister and his Government. Today my party has shone a light on what is an embarrassing lack of fiscal responsibility. It has become the hallmark of this Administration and the previous one, in which the Minister also served.

In fairness, let us begin by recalling what was a good idea, namely, the €6 million spent on the setting up of Benefacts, which had a very short lifespan. It provided unprecedented transparency and oversight of non-profit funding. However, instead of building on the success of that, the Government chose to shut it down, investing a further €250,000 on the wind-up process. Why? It was because Benefacts dared to expose the wasteful practice that is rampant in the public sector. It allowed taxpayers to follow the money. It was a tool to enable Members of this House and the press to track where money was being spent. One thing we know for certain is that money is being spent on 372 quangos and 32,000 NGOs. That is one NGO for every 155 people in the State.

The National Gallery of Ireland, for example, spent €125,000 on a scanner which was never to see the light of day because there was not a room suitable and it could not be accommodated. This is a stunning example of neglect and mismanagement, and a perfect example of two departments - procurement and facilities - not speaking to one another. Yet, nobody is to blame. In 2018 the Government purchased a printer in the Oireachtas for a whopping €800,000. This printer lay idle for ten months. It was another example of a purchase not being fit for the building. In addition, €230,000 of taxpayers' money was spent modifying the building to accommodate the equipment. Yet, nobody is to blame. We must ask how many essential services could have been funded for that money. As we look out from Leinster House we cannot overlook the €366,000 spent on the bicycle shed. Yet, nobody is to blame. There was €1.4 million spent on a security hut, yet nobody is to blame. There was €250,000 spent on car charging points on the grounds of this House. Yet, nobody is to blame.

Am I the only one seeing a pattern here? Let us not even start with the €9 million spent on phone pouches or the €500,000 spent by the OPW on a perimeter wall. The OPW has now affectionately been coined a new name by the general public in the pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars and on the streets of Cork: the "office of public waste". Let us remember the Hill of Tara project, with €124,160 spent on that since 2014 yielding no results. Yet again, nobody is to blame. The Arts Council spent a staggering €6.7 million on an IT system, which was wasted. This taxpayers' money could have been spent on education, as my colleague said, or on infrastructure, healthcare, helping the elderly, helping communities and building more houses for the people that badly need them. Yet, nobody is to blame.

The additional insult is the national children's hospital project, the cost of which is now €2.2 billion to €2.5 billion and counting. This was meant to be developed for €800 million. This project has been mismanaged by the Minister's Government from the start. The Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, refused to take responsibility prior to the election, saying that although he signed the document he had nothing to do with it. Again, it is a prime example of somebody who had nobody to blame. The big question that is coming, and which the Government is deflecting, is this: how we will staff this hospital with the rents and the prices there? Who will work in this hospital?

Today I call on the Government to implement the necessary reforms of accountability in the public procurement processes. The Irish people deserve to know where their hard-earned money is going and how it is being spent. They need to have it tracked. We need to reopen a type of Benefacts that clearly provides comprehensive transparency and improves Government accountability.

The other thing I want to bring to the Minister's attention is that local authorities are not available to come before the Committee of Public Accounts. They must be answerable to the Committee of Public Accounts. For example, Cork City Council spent €400,000 on the restoration of a fireman's hut the size of a garden shed. It spent nearly €5,000 on scaffolding for a hut that is just a little bit taller than myself. It is ridiculous.

See this speech in context