Shane Ross (Independent)

If we are going to eulogise someone, I presume there is another point of view which should also be expressed and I was trying to do so. If I was out of order, I apologise, but I stand over what I said.

I address the issue of Iarnród Éireann which was raised by Senators Donohoe and Buttimer. What is happening at Iarnród Éireann is absolutely incredible. The Minister for Transport stated in the Dáil yesterday that he did not know what was happening with a major project. If that is the case, we are in difficulties. This House should debate the matter. This is not the first time this has happened at Iarnród Éireann. A few months ago the chairman and various executives commissioned a report on corruption in Iarnród Éireann at a cost of €500,000. The Minister did not know about that report, that it had been commissioned, that it had cost €500,000 to produce, its findings and was not informed when it was issued. Not only did he not know, but the board was not told officially either, which begs the question as to what is going on in this semi-state body which receives a subsidy of €300 million from the taxpayer every year. We do not know. Iarnród Éireann is being run like a little independent republic and is not subject to freedom of information legislation. We encounter incredible problems in getting the company to answer questions at the Joint Committee on Transport. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on this quango which is running rings around the Government. We are entitled to detailed answers about what is happening inside the organisation but we are not getting them. It is a real accident waiting to happen.