Tá níos mó ná €50 milliún curtha amú cheana féin ar chóras bainistíochta tráchta Iarnród Éireann, córas a theip ar na tástálacha sábhála agus tá níos mó ná dhá bhliain taobh thiar de sceideal. Gan dabht, is teip iomlán é. Anois, tá sé foghlamtha againn go bhfuil na cáiníocóirí ag íoc suas le €100,000 i gcaitheamh le seachtain mar nach bhfuil cinneadh glactha ag an Rialtas ná an NTA ar cheart deireadh a chur leis an choradh seo ar fad. Anois air sin, tá an Rialtas ag caitheamh €200,000 eile le fiosrú cén dóigh a tharla an tubaiste seo ar an chéad dul síos. Beidh, agus tá, an pobal ag fiosrú cén uair a gcuirfear deireadh leis an chur amú ama agus cur amú airgead poiblí seo. Once again, the public is asking who is taking responsibility for the extraordinary waste of taxpayers' money that has become the hallmark of the Government. The latest revelations surrounding the failed Irish Rail traffic management system are absolutely staggering. More than €50 million has already been blown and written off on a project that has failed safety testing, is more than two years behind schedule and, by any reasonable measure, has been a complete and utter failure. Incredibly, the waste does not end there. We now learn that taxpayers are footing a bill of €100,000 every single week while a decision is made on whether the contract relating to the project should be terminated. In addition, the Government is spending a further €200,000 simply to find out how this debacle happened in the first place. Members of the public are rightly asking when the waste of public money under the Government will stop. While tens of millions of euros have been squandered on this failed project, commuters are being told that there is no funding to deliver new bus, rail or rural transport services this year. That is the cost of the Government's waste. Every euro squandered on failed projects is a euro that cannot be invested in better buses, better rail services and better public transport for people who rely on it every single day. We know from Iarnród Éireann's briefing papers that it asked for the contract relating to this project to be terminated a year ago. The company warned that it had lost confidence in the contractor's ability to deliver the project and recommended that the contract be terminated. The Department was told last October that there were risks relating to this project and that red flags had been raised. Surely the Minister should have been doing his job and should have intervened to try to find out what was going on. The Government has allowed this to continue. A year after Iarnród Eireann's request that the contract be terminated, over €50 million has been written off and taxpayers are still losing €100,000 every single week, and there is no end in sight. This is not simply about one failed contract. It is also about a culture of waste that is tolerated and an absence of accountability. Nobody in government ever appears to carry responsibility for the millions in public money that are squandered. I have lost count of the number of times I have stood here and asked what the Government is going to do to end the constant waste of public money. I will again ask the question again on behalf of the people who are frustrated about the continuation of waste. Fifty million euro is not a small amount of money. It has been completely written off. We are now told that €100,000 is being paid every week, with no indication as to when this will end. That is the definition of public waste. Who is going to be held responsible for this latest fiasco? Why are taxpayers still being forced to pay €100,000 every week while this drags on? What immediate steps is the Government going to take to stop further public money being poured into a project that has already become one of the most expensive failures in the history of our public transport system?
Sentiment score: -0.25
This project is not just delayed. Does the Tánaiste not know what is going on here? A sum of €50 million has been written down in the accounts. Irish Rail has formally recommended ending the contract. It has been saying that since last year. It has no confidence that the project can be delivered. This is not just a project that will be delivered in a couple of months' time. The problem is that along with the €50 million that has been written down in terms of the accounts, €100,000 is being paid out on a weekly basis because a decision still has not been taken to end this contract. The NTA is telling us it will take months of engagement between it and the Department to make a recommendation. I say to the Tánaiste very clearly that this is taxpayers' money. The NTA was very clear that there will be no new bus services, no new rail services and no new rural services this year and, yes, the €50 million could have funded some of that. The NTA representatives were very clear about that yesterday at the committee. I will again ask the Tánaiste some specific questions. Why is the taxpayer on the hook for €100,000 every week for a project that is not going anywhere? Does he accept that Irish Rail has asked the Government to end the contract? When will the Government ensure that this type of wasting of public money will no longer happen? Crucially, as everybody asks me, who will be held accountable for this? It is not good enough for the Tánaiste to come in, shrug his shoulders and just brush off €50 million of taxpayers' money being wasted, along with another €100,000 every single week.
Sentiment score: 0.05
This is a serious issue.
Sentiment score: -0.08
You are pathetic. Do you practise that in front of the mirror every night?
Sentiment score: -0.29
Do you stand there saying, "I wonder how this looks"? Honest to God, do you consider even for a minute what the public thinks of it?
Sentiment score: 0.33
You have wasted public money and do not care what taxpayers feel about it. You can go on with your gimmicks all you want.
Sentiment score: -0.31
Do not point your finger at me, Tánaiste.
Sentiment score: 0.00
You are a serial waster, Tánaiste.
Sentiment score: 0.00