Private consulting - Phenomenal waste of money

IN A properly run company those who hire outside private consultants must show value for money, or they would be fired.

In the public service, however, they have been wasting public money on consultants to draw up reports that are often ignored.

One of the biggest scandals since Fianna Fáil came to power in 1997 has been the expenditure on electronic voting machines that have never been used. They cost more than €50 million to purchase, and they have been costing €500,000 a year to store. For what? They have never been used, and there are no plans to use them this year. Does anyone believe those machines will ever be used? A fortune is being wasted in throwing good money after bad. The taxpayer is certainly not benefiting from the maintenance of those machines.