Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Over the summer, the issue that appeared to dominate was rip-off Ireland and the programme presented by Mr. Eddie Hobbs seems to have resonated with the public. By the end of the summer, people were talking about this issue as though this was a banana republic without the bananas. Indeed, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs agreed on television that we have developed into rip-off Ireland.

When Members returned to the Houses, the first thing they received was the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. For anyone who reads the report, it is a shocking indictment of spending excesses in many different Departments. There appears to be a natural assumption that when any Department installs a computer system, it never works out exactly in accordance with the estimate. There appears to be an acceptance that the cost of such projects doubles. Regrettably, in 2000 we entered into an arrangement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with regard to MediaLab Europe. That has been written off with a total cost to the Exchequer of €35 million. At the time, it was the Taoiseach's project. It subsequently came under the aegis of the former Department of Public Enterprise and eventually under that of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. On reading the report, it appears more like a vanity project than one based in reality.

I want someone to account for the reason for this type of spending. When we decided to automate the production of passports, why did the cost double from €13.5 million to €27 million? There seems to be a natural assumption that this will happen.

There is benchmarking within the Civil Service. I often wonder what actually happens to senior officials who make decisions within the Civil Service pertaining to expenditure on the scale involved in many such projects. What happens subsequently when it goes completely askew? Are they accountable for their stewardship? Are they accountable within their own Departments? Are they asked what went wrong? Does anything happen or do they get promoted?

This report saddens me. I have been in the Oireachtas since 1989 and have seen reports like this every year. I keep telling myself that surely alarm bells will ring in Departments with regard to the Comptroller and Auditor General's role as a public watchdog, so we will reach a situation whereby his report contains little by way of the discovery of spending excesses. We have squandered much of the fruits of the Celtic tiger. I would like the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, to come before the House and account for these excesses. There must be some accountability so we can know what is happening. The Committee of Public Accounts will look at the situation in comparison with the spending of all Departments and I welcome the moves that are emanating from the committee to demand that these projects be looked at differently in the future. Rather than incurring expenditure, proposed expenditure must be examined first to figure out how viable it is.