Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Who is this civil servant who feels he can treat elected Members of this House in that way? Does the Minister of State accept that the Oireachtas and its joint committees have an oversight and governance role set out in EU Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement, particularly under Article 83?

Finally, in the most recent SAR contract the public was told that we were getting a fleet of new helicopters that would cost €40 million each. We did not get a fleet of new helicopters. We got secondhand helicopters and they were not valued at €40 million each. All I will say to the Minister of State is that I have not heard a comment from her or her Department that has convinced me that we are going the wrong way. The public has a right to know. Why is it that we can never deal with issues of public procurement in a proactive way? This is how we finished up with a children's hospital that was initially costed at €600 million but will probably cost €3 billion. Why are we always looking back, with statements from Departments saying lessons have been learned and they will not let it happen again? Quite frankly, this is a disaster. It should go back. The Cabinet should say to go back and start all over again.