Pearse Doherty: Who's Accountable for €50m Lost?
Pearse Doherty confronts the Minister over what he calls €50 million wasted on a failed Irish Rail IT system and other recent examples of public spending waste. He demands accountability and challenges a government he says treats taxpayers' money like monopoly money.
Pearse Doherty accuses the Government of serial waste and highlights a failed Irish Rail IT project that he says has effectively burned €50 million of taxpayers' money. He points to a recent €127,000 designer bike shed at Kerry hospital and uses these examples to question decision-making on public expenditure.
Doherty asks who will be held responsible for the losses and calls for an end to what he describes as a culture of waste, incompetence and contempt for ordinary workers and families. He presses the Minister directly for action and answers about oversight and consequences.
The Minister replies that the CIE accounts were only just received by the Department and stresses the government's commitment to proper spending, while also raising the cost of a proposed passport office in Northern Ireland. The exchange becomes heated as Deputies interrupt and challenge each other's points.
Doherty frames the debate around ordinary households stretching to cover daily costs while major public projects fall short. The address highlights tensions over transparency, value for money and who ultimately pays when public projects fail.
Key allegation
Pearse Doherty accuses the Government of serial waste and highlights a failed Irish Rail IT project that he says has effectively burned €50 million of taxpayers' money. He points to a recent €127,000 designer bike shed at Kerry hospital and uses these examples to question decision-making on public expenditure.
Demand for accountability
Doherty asks who will be held responsible for the losses and calls for an end to what he describes as a culture of waste, incompetence and contempt for ordinary workers and families. He presses the Minister directly for action and answers about oversight and consequences.
Government response and contested choices
The Minister replies that the CIE accounts were only just received by the Department and stresses the government's commitment to proper spending, while also raising the cost of a proposed passport office in Northern Ireland. The exchange becomes heated as Deputies interrupt and challenge each other's points.
Wider significance
Doherty frames the debate around ordinary households stretching to cover daily costs while major public projects fall short. The address highlights tensions over transparency, value for money and who ultimately pays when public projects fail.
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Transcript
It's a time when ordinary workers and families are counting every euro. Your Government still act as serial wasters of public money. Hot on the heels of the 127,000 euro designer bike shed at the Kerry hospital, a bike shed that is actually letting water in, you wouldn't make this up, we now discover that 50 million euro of taxpayers' money has effectively been torched on a failed IT system for Irish Rail. That's 50 million euro, Minister. Gone. And while you burn through public money, ordinary people, they're being stretched like never before, and you expect them to pick up the tab for this incompetence. You treat public money as if it were monopoly money. And it's not an isolated incident, and you know this. It's one scandal after the other. It's one grotesque waste of taxpayers' money after another, and the public are sick of it. You come in here, you shrug your shoulders, and you expect them to pick up the tab. Well, it's not on. So Minister, I'm going to ask you, who's going to be held accountable for any of this? This is 50 million euro of taxpayers' money being wasted again under your watch. What are you going to do to end the culture of waste, incompetence and contempt for taxpayers and workers who are paying the price for what we're seeing over and over again? Minister. Deputy Deputy, I was also concerned by the reports that I saw on the front of the paper today, and I've spoken to Minister O'Brien, who's told me and informed me that the department received the accounts for the CIE group only just this week, so he's not had a copy even himself at this stage, but he will obviously be reading it and will have to take action or respond to what is in the report itself. I have spoken to you about this many times. We are absolutely determined as a government to make sure that every penny that we spend is spent appropriately. But I would stress, I've been asked twice this week to open a passport office in Northern Ireland, which could cost up to 6 million euro, where we know that less than 500 citizens are using a passport office every day. We're now moved to the next question, which is in the name of Deputy Robert O'Donoghue. Deputy Doherty, please. Deputy Doherty. It is disgraceful, Minister, to blame citizens in the north for your complaints. Oh, sit down, Deputy. Deputy, resume your seat. Deputy O'Donoghue. Deputy O'Donoghue.