Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

This section deals with the Comptroller and Auditor General scrutinising accounts, but there is no mention of sanctions. The committee structure within the Houses is quite new by comparison with what is established in other Parliaments, but we have all marvelled at the American committee system in the US Houses of Congress, which have real power.

I watch "Oireachtas Report" on a Thursday evening, and every week we see scandalous overruns of taxpayers' money by different agencies, with the Comptroller and Auditor General bringing forward reports and them to the cross-party Committee of Public Accounts, whose members then express surprise and shock. Everyone then goes home and no sanctions seem to come about. Nobody is held accountable and nobody appears responsible.

I fear the same will happen here. It is a pity there is no section detailing who would be held responsible. There is a complete lack of democracy in the health service area. If one asks the Minister for Health and Children a simple question it is bounced back to the HSE and it will take months to get back to the person who raised the question, if it happens at all. If the HSE does reply, God knows what type of an answer it will be. It will certainly not be the answer sought, or it will not be complete. This will be another agency outside the remit of the HSE, the Department of Health and Children and the Minister.

I am concerned about this although I know nothing can be done at this stage. I hope we do not have a Bill like this again, but in future similar legislation there should be sanctions if people fail to meet targets. In the private sector that would not be tolerated, and it should be no different for the public sector. The public sector is very good in Ireland and has been capable of brilliance and great achievements. Unfortunately, at times, it has gone wrong.

People should be held accountable and made responsible. At this stage, the taxpayer is blue in the face because of this issue. Recently, in Carlow, sports grants were given out for hundreds of thousands of euro. This was fair enough, although some groups did not get any money. These groups do not mind this so much until they see much squandering of public money in other areas. The issue then sticks in the throat.

We must introduce sanctions and beef up the Committee of Public Accounts and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. We should hold people to account, which is not happening at the moment.