John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

As the Minister of State said, we will have an opportunity for a more detailed discussion on these issues in the new year. However, I wish to make a few comments on the Appropriation Bill. The Minister of State mentioned the Government's commitment to spending taxpayers' money wisely but nothing could be further from the truth if one looks at its record. I am certainly not convinced the necessary measures have been taken to prevent the scandalous waste of taxpayers' money in certain areas as has happened in recent years. I refer, in particular, to the PPARS project. The report on PPARS was issued this week but the House did not get the opportunity to discuss it. Perhaps we will get the chance to discuss it in the new year.

When it comes to the glaring examples of the misuse of public funds by this Government over the past few years, it is clear it has not learned any lessons so far. I am not convinced by anything the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, or the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, have said in this House or in the other one on the recent budget that they have learned anything from the misuse of public funds which has marred this Government, particularly since the 2002 general election.

On umpteen occasions in this House and elsewhere, I have mentioned the River Nore flood relief scheme in County Kilkenny which was completed two years ago. The expected cost was €14 million but it ended up costing €48 million. There are still significant problems with that scheme in that there are environmental issues which have not been resolved.

I already mentioned PPARS but there are numerous other examples. It is clear that in certain areas the Government is not spending taxpayers' money as wisely as it should. I have never doubted the Government's ability to spend money, but I do question its ability to spend it correctly and wisely and to get the best value for it. Everything I have seen in the course of the time I have been in the House leads me to question that ability even more.

I realise we will have an opportunity for a fuller debate on the Bill. There is no opposition to it from this side of the House today but there is a need to have a broader discussion on the Government's lack of ability to properly spend taxpayers' money and to ensure that fiascoes like PPARS and other issues such as the Kilkenny flood relief scheme are not repeated in future. I will finish on that note.