There has certainly been a lot of talk over the last number of weeks when it comes to how public money is spent.
We have built what I assume is one of the most expensive bike shelters in the world.
We have a new security hut in Leinster House that cost €1.4m and appears largely unoccupied.
The modular homes which were built for Ukranians were supposed to cost €200,000 per unit, but ended up costing €441,000.
The Office of Public Works (OPW ), which was responsible for contracting the work for the bike shelter and modular homes, informed me this week that it will be spending €12m to rent a building in Smithfield, Dublin that currently does not have any occupants, and will sit idle until some time in 2025.
We have a Health Service Executive (HSE ) expected to spend around €700m this year on agency staff because of a recruitment embargo which was supposed to save money. We have consultants earning €1m per year, and I have not even mentioned the cost overruns in the new National Children’s Hospital.
It is quite clear that the public’s confidence in the way its money is spent, is on the floor. This wastage is particularly frustrating when us Galwegians see the issues with deteriorating hospital services, ambulance coverage and basic things like the state of our footpaths. Those who make these calls must be held to account.
The Public Accounts Committee - the most powerful committee in the Dáil - is the committee tasked with holding public bodies to account, and indeed to drill into the way these sums are spent. This week I became the first woman to become chair of PAC, the youngest person to have held this position, and the first person from the West of Ireland.
Make no mistake, I will use this position to analyse the finances, uncover where money has been wasted, and hold those who are responsible to account. For too long people feel that when a scandal is uncovered, it is spoken about for a period, but nothing ever changes. Sometimes public bodies attempt to delay their appearances before the PAC with various excuses, despite it being the only committee with powers to compel attendance.
This is not something I will stand for. Just this week I had PAC seek to have the Board of the new National Children’s Hospital appear next week, despite the Dáil being on recess. Fobbing off the PAC will not be tolerated. Any bodies engaging in ‘pretend and extend’ practices will find my committee getting straight on to the Minister, and their relevant line department.
I am the first PAC chair from the West of Ireland. I believe this is of particular importance to move from a Dublin-centric perspective to a broader analysis of how public money is spent in all counties; of course including Galway. People in Galway need to scrimp and save while some public bodies spend money like it is going out of fashion, and often not where it is needed the most.
Not all public bodies fall under PAC’s remit. For example, local authorities and RTÉ do not. However the PAC can seek temporary permission for such a remit to be granted, as seen in the case of RTÉ. I intend to take an activist approach whereby if such matters arise that might not immediately fall within the scope of PAC, I will try to us the processes and procedures that exist to investigate where possible.
While my tenure might be brief giving the impending election, I hope to set a standard for others to follow.
