Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The issue is that whatever comes through, it will not be somebody in the building section but somebody in the Department of Education and Science who will have to go through the whole process all over again. Despite this, we will not get an answer and Deputies must put down a parliamentary question or Senators must raise a matter on the Adjournment. Senator Doherty has a matter on the Adjournment today concerning a school on which I have a file so high. I would like the Minister to interpret what we are told, such as "it is continually under review" and so on. The system is not working.

We cannot, in this day and age, have a situation where the Minister can intervene and change the list without Members understanding the criteria, reasons and understandings behind why this is happening, which is why I have asked the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine the operation of this area. I guarantee I will get the Minister better value for the same amount of money if he lets me run the building section for a while. Builders should be told they have a particular envelope of money. If they can build a school for that amount, with the required specification, they should go ahead and do it — we know they can do it. Whether these matters go through a proper tendering process, it is just not happening at present. There is no value for money. This is driving people to distraction, not just at school level but also among Deputies and Senators who are trying to deal with these questions but cannot get answers.

Will the Minister do what the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, did? Will he put the list for 2009 on the Department's website? The Minister knows I am as good as my word on these matters. I promise him that if the list must be changed, and there is a good and valid reason for changing it, I will back him up. Circumstances alter cases, as my grandfather always told me. One has to deal with changing circumstances, whatever they happen to be. At least if it is open and clear, people would understand what is happening even if they do not like it. At present, they do not understand the system. They complain of all sorts of issues, such as political interference and local involvement. The problem is that nobody believes in the system. It is like the situation with the banks — we must restore confidence in the building section.

The last time I raised an issue with the building section under the Minister's predecessor, I was in total frustration. I was told that if I was so concerned, I should put it down as an Adjournment matter. That is on the record, with the names of those involved and so on, but it is no answer.