Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty has slammed what he called the “extraordinary waste of taxpayers’ money” on Irish Rail.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance today said the latest revelations surrounding the failed Irish Rail Traffic Management System are absolutely staggering.
It follows the revelation that Iarnród Eireann has written off €50m on a planned national traffic management system to coordinate train services.
Raising the issue with Tánaiste Simon Harris during Leaders’ Questions, Deputy Doherty said: “Once again, the public is left asking – who is taking responsibility for the extraordinary waste of taxpayers’ money that has become a hallmark of your government?”
He said: “More than €50 million has already been 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 failure.
“But incredibly, the waste does not end there with you. We now learn that taxpayers are footing a bill of €100,000 every single week while a decision is made on whether the contract should even be terminated.
“And on top of that, the government is now spending a further €200,000 simply to review how this debacle happened in the first place.”
Deputy Doherty added: “While tens of millions of euro are being squandered on this failed project, commuters are being told there is no funding to deliver new bus services this year, no new rail services this year, no new rural services this year.”
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He said: “This is not simply about one failed contract. It is about a culture of waste that is tolerated, accountability is absent and nobody in government ever appears to carry responsibility for the millions in public money that is squandered.
He concluded: “So who is going to be held responsible for this latest fiasco?
“And what immediate steps will you 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?”