Seanad debates
Wednesday, 5 November 2003
National Development Plan Mid-Term Evaluation: Statements.
Whether all these changes were for the better is not the point. At no stage were they subjected to the rigours of a cost-benefit analysis. The project was just allowed to grow and grow, to lurch blindly from one thing to another, without anyone putting up their hand and saying: "Hold on a minute. At this cost, is this still a good idea?" One of the most important recommendations in this review is on page 12 of the summary, where it states that consideration should be given to the establishment of a unit in the Department of Finance devoted exclusively to the conduct/commissioning of cost-benefit studies on major projects. I add my hearty support to this recommendation. For a long time I have found it totally incomprehensible that Government spending, especially our capital spending, does not use the cost-benefit concept. If any company in the private sector, and I know those of us in the House who are involved in such, failed to use that discipline in its spending decisions, it would be out of business very quickly.
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