Over the past three years I have been examining the money spent to date on the Poolbeg incinerator at every opportunity in the PAC. The constant refrain from Secretaries General and relevant accounting officers is that this is a matter for Dublin City Council and therefore the PAC has no remit.

We have debated in the Dáil the possibility of expanding the Comptroller & Auditor General’s remit to include the circa five billion in taxpayers’ money that is transferred to local authorities each year. This proposal was rejected.

However, following recently announced details that a further 600,000 plus will be spent on this project between now and June (in addition to the 96 million plus already spent over a decade) – and still nothing built – I have requested that the PAC seek to extend its remit so we can conduct a special investigation into this project.

This was agreed at our meeting on Thursday 3rd April  and the Oireachtas legal advisor is now drawing up the relevant papers. Watch here.

Read the most recent documentation received by the PAC – including timelines, breakdown of spend, problems encountered, land acquisition costs (52 million) – and the very damaging local government auditor’s reports here.