Fianna Fáil must ensure that the Minister for Health is held accountable for the huge overspend in the construction of the National Children’s Hospital by supporting Sinn Féin’s call for his removal.
What has emerged in the last 24 hours regarding the timescale of who knew what and when is unbelievable.
Minister Harris said he first became aware of a €19m overspend on 27 August 2018 with an indication that it could rise to nearly €400m. The Minister for Finance says he did not find out about the possible overspend until 9 November. During the intervening period, Fianna Fáil tells us that they were busy seeking assurances from the Government on key budget measures. The fact that they did not enquire about the largest item of capital expenditure in the health budget beggars belief.
Many questions have been asked in the Dáil with differing accounts of who knew what when. There has been a constant stream of leaks to journalists over the last few days as well as delays in releasing information under FOI legislation. The seriousness of the scale of money involved is now matched by the seriousness of the abject failure of the Ministers and officials involved.
The careless nature of Government procurement policy is now evident in an increasing list of overspend. The tender bid made by BAM was an abnormally low tender bid; €130 million lower than the nearest competitor.
Abnormally low tenders, as outlined in international and EU procurement guidelines, raise immediate questions over the ability of the contractor to deliver on price and on time to a high quality.
Add to this, the millions of public money squandered on JobPath, and the denial of treatments such as Spinraza and Translarna on affordability grounds, and a picture emerges of a Government that is treating the taxpayers’ money with contempt. I am calling on Fianna Fáil to act in the interests of these same taxpayers and ensure that careless squandering of public money is not excused or glossed over for party political reasons.
