Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

Certainly, I have no inclination to book a crossing with Irish Ferries this morning and I dare say many others would react in the same way.

On the subject of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, I have felt for a long time that if the Revenue Commissioners are overstretched and require more staff, the resources should be provided without question. They more than pay for themselves. We will still be discussing in a hundred years the Comptroller and Auditor General's report as it is an eternal battle to combat waste in public expenditure. While criticism is in most cases well justified, the only way to avoid waste entirely would be for Government not to take any decision at all. As a former Fine Gael leader said to me some years ago regarding one of our projects which had not worked out, it is an inevitable part of Government that one loses some. In defence of public servants, I point out that we have a system of ministerial accountability. Ministers are the people who are responsible for decisions.