THE Secretary of the Department of the Marine was accused of "stonewalling" and of displaying a "frightening lack of knowledge" about his own Department at the Dail Committee of Public Accounts yesterday.
Mr Tom Carroll was being questioned on aspects of a £1.5 million overrun in State expenditure on harbour works. Some £250,000 extra which had been spent on dredging at Burtonport, Co Donegal, could have been avoided if the contractors had been informed of previous work done by the Office of Public Works (OPW), the committee was told.
Accepting that final responsibility for the extra costs lay with his Department, Mr Carroll said that a detailed hydrographic survey had been carried out, the preparatory work had been done, and there was "no major lesson to be learned" from the experience. The Department's own marine engineering expertise comprised former OPW engineering staff, he said.
The issue, which arose at last month's committee meeting following the 1994 Comptroller and Auditor General's report, concerns the payment of more than twice the amount of the original tender for the Burtonport dredging job. An extra £1.2 million was also spent on Kilmore Quay.
Under persistent questioning by Mr Sean Doherty TD (FF, Longford Roscommon), Mr Carroll said that no inquiry had been instituted when the contractor traced part of the problem in Burtonport to previous OPW work. Mr Doherty asked why it was that the Department's engineers had not brought "files or a memory bank" from the OPW.
Asked by Mr John Ellis TD (FF, Sligo Leitrim) about a change in the dump site midway through the contract, Mr Carroll said that he was not aware of the change.
The Department appeared to have been negligent in preparing the contract and in making the contractor aware of the previous work done by the OPW, Mr Ellis said. The Department's engineering staff appeared to have "brought nothing from the OPW only their PRSI numbers" he added.
Responding, Mr Carroll said that this was an "outrageous statement". The Department had very professional and dedicated engineering staff. Mr Ellis said that Mr Carroll was "stonewalling" and "showing a knowledge of his own Department that is frightening".
Mr Carroll said that he was prepared to answer any question the committee put, if notice was given, but he was not prepared to be "interrogated" on detailed, itemised and "trick" questions. "Let's be mature about this" he said. "Some people are more mature than others", Mr Ellis replied.
After further discussion, it was agreed to adjourn the matter until the secretary could furnish more information. Mr Carroll had clearly indicated that he did not have sufficient staff, and this was a "valid point", the committee chairman, Mr Denis Foley TD (FF, Kerry North), agreed.
The State's policy on fishery protection was working, as the rate of arrests was falling in spite of increased boardings, Mr Carroll told the committee. "We're totally on top of this issue", he said. The credibility of the Irish enforcement authorities had clearly increased and there was no need for any increase in enforcement requirements.
Asked by Mr Tommy Broughan TD (Lab, Dublin North East) about reports of drugs on foreign fishing vessels, Mr Carroll said that he had no knowledge or information, and this was totally outside his responsibility. The Department was contributing to the Government's drugs task force initiative, but it had no legal role, he said.
Some £13,161 had been paid out in overtime in 1994 to a senior sea fishery officer in Killybegs, Co Donegal, Mr Carroll said. This was to compensate for lack of staff.
