The Chairman of Campus Stadium Ireland has made his statement to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee about the awarding of the contract for the National Aquatic Centre.
On his way into the meeting, Paddy Teahon said he would not resign. But he said that, if asked to do so by the Taoiseach, he would consider it. Mr Teahon, in his statement, again questioned the independent consultants' estimate of €1bn for the completion of Sports Campus Ireland.
He said he remained of the view that the project could be completed, in its entirety, for considerably less than this. Mr Teahon then went on to deal with the controversy over the awarding of the contract to operate the aquatic centre to a dormant shelf company.
He told the Committee that he regretted not having told the panel assessing bids for the aquatic centre that one company, Waterworld UK, was a dormant company. But he said he had told them there was a funding issue with that company that would have to be resolved.
The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee was earlier told that the aquatic centre at Abbotstown, which was to have cost the State a maximum of £33m, had jumped to a minimum of £48m just five months later. The figures were given by the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, who said this and the question of the Chairman also being Chief Executive, were among the issues he was concerned about following his audit for the year 2000.
He also said Campus and Stadium Ireland had paid £100,000 a month to an outside company for the provision of executive services. He said those payments went on for four months, to the end of the year 2000.
The company also spent £560,000 fitting out offices in Blanchardstown and another £313,000 on consultants' fees for the year 2000. Mr Purcell said he queried the fact that the Chairman was also Chief Executive and was satisfied with the replies he got on this from Chairman Paddy Teahon.
Mary Harney has meanwhile told the Dáil that the Government was not given the complete facts about the contract for the National Aquatic Centre. The controversy erupted when a newspaper revealed a dormant shelf company had been appointed to run the centre.
The Tánaiste said that the Government had not been given the fullest information about the contract, that appropriate procedures within Campus Stadium Ireland had not been in place, and that the company given the contract had no track record. However, she said that the Government had been told that the assessors employed to deal with the contract had said that the company involved had, on all counts, come out the highest.
The Fine Gael leader, Michael Noonan, described the controversy as a fiasco organised by the Taoiseach. Mr Noonan said that it was beginning to smell like a scandal. On RTÉ radio, Mr Noonan said that the PAC should have the results of the Attorney General's enquiry into the matter, which have so far not been made public.
Earlier, Labour leader Ruairí Quinn said that the withholding of the Attorney General's report amounted to a political cover up and a political mess. Mr Quinn was speaking on RTÉ Radio. The Tánaiste said yesterday evening that her concerns had been heightened as a result of the Attorney General's investigation into the affair.
The Cabinet held off taking a decision on Mr Teahon's future yesterday. However, the Tánaiste said that her concerns had been heightened as a result of the information contained in Michael McDowell's report. Mr Teahon's future will have to be decided by the Government and his position is still hanging in the balance.
