Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and compliment Senator Quinn on his thoughtful contribution. Unlike many of us and the party in power on the other side, which might focus on particular aspects, he would examine this matter much more objectively. Everyone recognises that the economy is going well but people are seriously questioning its management. If the Government was to be criticised, it would be on its management of the economy.

This issue has often been raised in respect of excessive overruns in the cost of certain projects. People are tired of hearing about electronic voting, the €50 million spent on it and €2.5 million per year spent on retaining the machines. The PPARS project cost in excess of €160 million before people said "Stop".

The digital hub project of 2000 was one of the Taoiseach's favoured projects. We shouted "Stop" in 2005 because the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seemed to renege on the financial aspect of the project. I could mention other excesses. The fundamental flaw is that many of these projects are publically funded. The difference between private sector industry and Government circles is that if something is not viable or is losing money, the private sector will make a decision to cut at that stage. In many cases due to a lack of overseeing ability, projects in the public service limp on and haemorrhage money over time before somebody decides to take action.