John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

The Minister is responsible for the costs. The Government has agreed to provide €119 million in the Estimates over the next four or five years. That will be contained in the capital envelope of my Department following negotiations with the Minister for Finance, who has been very helpful and forthcoming in the construction of the first phase of the campus. There is no power for the Minister to make amendments to plans provided by the authority but it is only right that he or she should approve its plans when, ultimately, he or she is accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas for the funding concerned. When the funding comes from the public purse, it makes perfect sense for the Minister to have a role in the approval of the plans because they must be drafted within budget. They cannot exceed the budget because the Minister might not have obtained the necessary funding from the Minister for Finance in his or her capital envelope to enable plans that run are over budget to be put in place.