John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Senator will understand that I cannot comment on his last remark, as I do not know. My view, and that of the Department, is that conducting a review of the programme before we determine how to proceed is in the interests of good governance. It will help us to understand how ConnectIreland has functioned over the course of the past five years and equip us with a better understanding of its strong and weak points. Undertaking such a review is in the interests of the taxpayer, the State and the programme itself.

The Succeed in Ireland initiative is not necessarily ending. The intention is to conduct the review of performance and contribution and determine how we might proceed. I hope that, in the coming weeks, further meetings will take place between my Department, the Minister, who is the one dealing with this matter, and the IDA. That will probably happen.

The contract will end in March and it is only reasonable to expect that there should be some review, given the amount of taxpayers' money that has been invested in the project. We should see where we go from there. I have been directed to say by the Department that this does not necessarily mean that it will be the end of the programme. It is in the interests of good governance. If one entered into a contract with, for example, a company over a period of years and taxpayers' money was invested, it would be expected that a review would be undertaken before the next programme's future was determined. We must fully understand how the initiative has functioned - its strong and weak points - and take the matter from there. It is reasonable that we analyse and review the programme and push forward from there.