Sinn Féin TD and Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Brian Stanley, has said that the Comptroller and Auditor General Annual Report has highlighted more shocking government expenditure across multiple departments and projects.
Teachta Stanley said:
“Day after day, we see more and more examples of this government wasting money, spending unwisely, not getting value for the taxpayers’ money, unverified spending and their own targets being missed.
“The Leinster House bike shed and the security hut at the Department of Finance may be the latest examples of inexplicable use of public monies but the annual report into the 2023 accounts shows that this government’s disregard for common sense when it comes to the taxpayers money is across multiple departments and projects.
“The rapid build programme as part of the Government’s response to provide accommodation for beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTPs) is just one example.
“The 500 units were completed 17 months late. No credible and long-term use for the modular units has yet been determined. The final projected average cost per unit of around €442,000 is an increase of around 120% on the original February 2023 estimate. It’s astounding.
“And in my home county of Laois, at Rathdowney, we have seen the tiny, 45 square metre units, costing over €345k each. In June the Daft report showed that the average price of a home in Laois is now €263,000. A modular unit with no long-term use identified costs substantially more than the average Laois person’s forever-home.
“In the appraisal of rail project investments, it showed that they have spent around €181 million on MetroLink up to the end of July 2024. The report found that around €225 million of Exchequer funding on earlier metro related projects has been written off. Millions spent without so much as a shovel put in the ground.
“When we look at the carbon tax receipts, between 2020 and 2023, €1.36 billion in revenue from increases in carbon tax rates was allocated by the government to specified environmental programmes. However, only 61% of that €1.36 billion could be verified as having been spent on the target schemes and programmes. Where is the 39% going?
“In the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) report it shows that this fund was supposed to deliver 20,000 homes from 2017 to 2021, in 30 projects. Six projects are not proceeding, reducing the target housing delivery to just over 16,000.
“At the end of 2023, 12 projects had been completed, eight were in progress and four had not commenced and a total of 6,418 housing units had been delivered, which is just 40% of the revised expected output.
“The majority of the incomplete projects will be delivered at least four years later than planned, with two estimated completion dates between eight and ten years after the original expected completion date.
“6,418 homes instead of 20,000 and years of delays. It simply isn’t good enough in the best of times, but during this state’s worst housing crisis ever, this is inexcusable.
“These bodies report to the PAC where we can highlight issues like this. But this report shows that there is a serious lack of accountability from senior management in these government departments.
“It is up to the individual government ministers, who have ultimate responsibility for their departments spending and use of taxpayers’ money to stamp this waste out. It’s time for change.”
