Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman of the arts and heritage committee, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, has arranged for the matter of the foundation in Ballina to be placed before it. He has invited the Mayo county manager of Mayo to attend. I hope the meeting will proceed, despite the announcement because the project bears investigation. I commend RTE's "Prime Time" programme which was the catalyst for movement on the issue. When money is tight and every project has to be evaluated on a pound for pound basis, we cannot afford to have local authorities, county managers or anyone or anything else of that nature getting involved in large projects without every single aspect being teased out fully in order that the country and the taxpayer get value for money. Projects should not proceed for their own sake or just to promote a particular region. All regions need investment, including my own. I would love to see every possible investment being made in Ballina, but everything has to be assessed. We cannot have major projects rolling on until someone decides they should be examined. In this case, the issue was raised by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter in The Irish Times, on "Prime Time" and, perhaps to a lesser extent, me in this Chamber. We must be vigilant.