Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

In 2002, I was Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, at which time the National Aquatic Centre was in its formative stages. There were concerns regarding the contract and an investigation carried out for the Comptroller and Auditor General. Following media revelations, the then Attorney General, Deputy McDowell, issued a very critical report that led to the resignation of a prominent person involved.

Now the National Aquatic Centre is in the news for a different reason altogether. The cost overrun has reached €62 million. This week the Taoiseach flippantly said that what blew down the roof was the wind. Since last January the Taoiseach has been in possession of a report from the Board of Works, which states there are serious structural deficiencies in the building. As such, it was rather trite on his part to make such a simplistic statement. What has gone wrong with this, the Taoiseach's pet project, is that there are structural difficulties. Senators will have seen the media revelations and the photographs. It is time we had a proper presentation of the whole sequence of events regarding the National Aquatic Centre. It would appear that many things have gone wrong with it.