Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion. I do not wish to take too much away from Senator Craughwell. I commend my good Independent colleague on his tenacity and doggedness in pursuing this issue. "Doggedness" is the right word because he is a dog with a bone, an army attack dog, and he has not let go of this issue despite all the obstacles and opposition he has faced. I am sure there are people who would rather that this issue be dropped and I am sure there have been many efforts to that effect but we are still here because Gerard Craughwell believes in something and follows it through on principle.

This is not some trendy issue that is going to get retweets and lead to an invitation to appear on RTÉ. It is an unglamorous and serious issue that on the surface appears niche but is profoundly symptomatic of a broken system with which we have lived for far too long. This is not just about search and rescue. It is about public procurement as a whole and the structures in place that shape and decide it. It begs the question of what are the standards. Are there sound principles and a logical fiscal approach to procurement? The Government has a contract with the people that their tax money will be spent in the manner that serves them best. If one looks at this single issue of search and rescue, SAR, however, one will see the mishandling that has occurred and that thousands of euro have been spent in ludicrous ways. One has to wonder why that attitude would be limited to this issue alone.

The obvious questions are how this can be allowed to happen and what we can do to change it. It is all well and good to ask those questions but there does not appear to be much sense in tasking a system with changing itself when that change is inconvenient. Public procurement has been a disaster for this country. I refer to motorways estimated to cost €5.7 billion that end up costing €16 billion. The national children's hospital, estimated at €640 million, has now passed €1.7 billion. As Deputy McGuinness, a Fianna Fáil colleague of the Minister of State, stated last week, that culture is not easily challenged or changed. Its ruling class is formidable and powerful and a network of connections with vested interests will spring to its defence. Is it any wonder there is such disillusionment with the political system? The perception is that there is an in crowd, an old gentlemen's club of untouchable figures who make decisions behind closed doors. The cumulative effect of ducking and diving and denying what the public has seen in various scandals in the past decade has been very damaging to its reputation and exposed a culture that is not becoming of this House.

For several years, the Department has deferred responsibility for the chairmanship of the national SAR committee to the former head of the UK coast guard. Consequently, I believe the decisions taken in the process to date have been weighed of the grief from the R116 tragedy, alongside a reported lack of competence that allowed a singular British commercial perspective to take root. When one looks at the facts of this case and all that Senator Craughwell has outlined, it is clear something is not working and deep change is urgently required. Former US President John F. Kennedy wrote on learning that, "The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds." That has application to the Department of the Minister of State as report after report in the past five years has confirmed systematic inadequacies and failure. The passing of this motion will send a strong message that positive change is desired by the Seanad. I commend it to the House.