Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell TD, said the Tánaiste Simon Harris’ faux outrage at the revelations that the Arts Council wasted almost €7m on a project that never went ahead is fooling nobody.

Deputy Farrell said that waste of public funds has been a hallmark of Simon Harris’ time in government.

Teachta Farrell said:

‘Simon Harris was Taoiseach when we had a bike shelter delivered for €336,000, which some have mocked as the new National Bike Shelter.

“Then there was the security hut for the Department of Finance, smaller than many people’s garden shed, which was delivered for €1.4m.

“In the previous government we had a new Garda HQ, which was supposed to be delivered for €15m, but ended up costing seven times that amount.

“We have the OPW spending millions renting buildings which sit idle. Then we have the OPW owning buildings, which could be rented out to earn a return for the taxpayer, also sitting idle.

“During the election, the Tánaiste tried to say that he had no responsibility for the cost of the new National Children’s Hospital, despite being the Minister for Health who signed off on it.

“We’ve just seen a small wall built, the so-called Great Wall of Northumberland Road, which cost almost half a million.

“We’ve had major spends in the Department of Social Protection of €1.4m a week on IT services, and now we’ve had the Arts Council spend almost €7m on projects that went nowhere.

“The Tánaiste is apparently very cross about this. Just like he was cross on all those other occasions.

“He said he’s not going to stand for this. Just like he said on all those other occasions.

“Unfortunately, this supposed anger never translates into meaningful action. It’s the same old routine.

“We get a review from a ‘value for money’ perspective, it tells us what is blindingly obvious – it was terrible value for money – then we hear about ‘lessons learned’ and the cycle starts over.

“Nobody will be held accountable for a very simple reason: The legal accountability mechanisms don’t exist.

“We can’t talk about meaningful reform until we get serious about this.

“The Tániaste said the Arts Council breached the Public Spending Code. There is no sanction for breaches of this.

“He said they breached public procurement rules. It’s not clear whether sanctions even exist in this regard.

“The Tánaiste can engage in performative outrage all he wants. This is no substitute for legislative reforms, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on any action in this regard.”