Hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money wasted every year, outgoing chairperson of Dail Public Accounts Committee reveals

Hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money is being wasted every year in Ireland, the outgoing chairperson of the influential Dail Public Accounts Committee has revealed.

Sinn Fein Public Expenditure Spokesperson Mairead Farrell TD said outrageous cost overruns on state projects like the National Children’s Hospital and the famous Dail bike shed are infuriating voters who are just about surviving in a cost-of-living crisis to make ends meet.

She demanded new laws be brought in to stop the financial scandals and Ministers be forced to hold their civil servant officials to account over their failure to stick within budget.

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Deputy Farrell also said companies who consistently overspend on state projects should be banned from being awarded a state contract again.

She warned: “This country is wasting hundreds and hundreds of millions every year in overpriced state contracts.

“Cases like the National Children’s Hospital, currently costing at least €2.3 billion, and the €335,000 Dail bike shed are only the tip of the iceberg.

“We had the case this week of the Office of Public Works spending €70,000 on three new curtains for Dublin Castle which is scandalous.

“The same organisation is to spend €260 million on renting out Distillery House in Dublin, a building it doesn’t even own between paying 25 years in rent and €60m on upgrades and refurbishment – it is madness.

“Over here in Galway, the constituency I represent, we are struggling to provide cancer services and we have a severe shortage of nursing homes because of a lack of funding.

“On the island of Inisheer, we have no ambulance. It will cost €300,000 to put an ambulance on the island – almost the same amount of money that we spent on a bicycle shed in Leinster House.

“The public are absolutely furious about all of this and that nobody is being held to account. Both this, the cost of living and housing are the three top issues on the doorstep.

“The public say they work so hard to pay their taxes and make ends meet and yet the state itself has no problem wasting their money left right and centre.”

Deputy Farrell said the National Children’s Hospital is a complete basket case and no one knows what the final cost will be or when it will open.

She tried to get the Children’s Hospital bosses in to explain themselves before the Dail adorned for the General Election.

The date suggested didn’t suit the Hospital so they suggested an alternative date wasn’t feasible because of the dissolution of the Dail.

Deputy Farrell said Government Ministers going forward should ensure that all state organisations under their command go before the PAC when they are summoned to do so.

She stated: “The Public Accounts Committee is one of the most important in the Dail, we would not be aware of so many financial scandals and shocking incidence of overspending only for it.

“The PAC did a tremendous job in exposing the mismanagement of public funds at RTE.

“It is the one body we have that can ensure public money is spent properly “ I honestly believe the Dail needs to bring in new laws to stop specific companies who consistently overspend.”

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