The Government has been accused of being “deep rooted” in a culture of “waste and incompetence”, after it emerged that a scanner bought eight years ago remains unused at the National Gallery.
It was reported that there have been issues finding a location for the 125,000 euro scanner as it needs a lead-lined room for a radioactive component.
The National Gallery said it purchased an X-ray system valued at 124,805 euro in November 2017, funded by the Cultural Digitisation Scheme.
It said that some elements of the X-ray system are being stored by the gallery, while the X-ray bulb is still with the supplier.
The latest public spending issue has been widely criticised by the opposition.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of having a list of “scandalous waste of public money as long as your arm”.
“A Government culture of waste and incompetence is deep-rooted. It’s been going on for a very long time,” she told the Dail.
“We hear infuriating example of taxpayers’ money squandered and nothing done about it. It’s revelation of waste after revelation of waste.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald branded the waste of taxpayers’ money ‘scandalous’ (Gareth Chaney/PA)
“The list of Government scandalous waste of public money is as long as your arm, and yet no-one, not a single person, has been held to account.
“In this Government culture of waste and incompetence, it seems nobody is responsible. Taoiseach, where is the proper Government oversight of how public money is spent?
“Where are the checks and balances and reporting within public procurement processes, for which Government is responsible?”
Aontu leader Peadar Toibin accused Taoiseach Micheal Martin of “outsourcing” responsibility for Government waste, after he cited other Government spending and cyber security issues.
“You basically said: ‘It’s somebody else’s fault’. How could the Government be held to account in relation to it?” Mr Toibin added.
“It is that culture that you have articulated today, that is at the heart of the fiasco factory that your Government has become?”
The TD for Meath West said that the public are “frustrated” at the latest public spending scandal.
“(Christopher) Columbus found the New World faster than the National Gallery actually found a room to fit this particular scanner in. It’s absolutely incredible,” he added.
“There is a significant pattern. We have citizens to the pin of their collar in terms of the taxes that they’re being charged, the charges that they’re paying on a daily basis, and yet we have this Government who are incinerating their taxpayers’ money on a daily basis on projects that are going way over budget, and nobody’s been held to account.
“People are sick and tired of it, Taoiseach. People are furious with this.
“It’s an incredible situation and there’s no doubt now we’re going to have a review, that there could be an investigation, that we’ll have a blizzard of words, but a drought of any real action, Taoiseach, and this is the real frustration.”
The machine has not been used at the National Gallery of Ireland (Alamy/PA)
Mr Martin told the Dail that it was “incomprehensible” that the Gallery purchased a scanner without having organised in advance how the scanner would be deployed.
“That is not acceptable. The (Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General) has unearthed this. It should be examined fully by the Public Accounts Committee when we have that committee established.
“It simply isn’t good enough, and its gallery has to answer for this, and those responsible have to answer for it.”
Mr Martin said that it was “completely unacceptable” the gallery failed to establish where it would locate the scanner before it bought it.
“People are right to be angry about it,” he added.
However, he rejected suggestions that the Government has wasted public money, saying there are “many worthy projects” in the country, citing school builds, reservoirs and water works, as coming in on budget.
Earlier, Mr Martin praised the National Gallery as “a beautiful building” and a “prized” institution, but said it was “a difficult story to explain”.
He said: “I think it falls on the Gallery itself to explain what happened here and I believe it happened eight years ago.”
In a statement, the National Gallery said: “X-ray facilities are used by most major galleries and museums and are considered an important tool for collection research and care.
“The Gallery has been working with the relevant experts and stakeholders to bring the system into operation and has identified a preferred solution.”
Tanaiste Simon Harris said his reaction was “one of absolute fury”.
Mr Harris echoed calls for the National Gallery to address the issues raised.
“It’s really important for the people who are paid to run these institutions to come out and talk to the Irish people in relation to these issues,” he said.
“Government provides money to state agencies and they do very good work, but they are also accountable for the spend of that money.
“I’m quite sure the people will want to hear from the National Gallery itself. We’ve worked very hard as a Government, as taxpayers, to increase vital funding into areas like the arts.
“But we have now seen three very significant concerns arsing from within one Government department – RTE, the Arts Council and now the National Gallery, and I think that does raise serious control issues.”
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was ‘a difficult story to explain’ (Brian Lawless/PA)
It emerged earlier this month that the Arts Council spent 6.67 million euro on a failed IT project that had been in development since 2019.
It was originally meant to take two-and-a-half years and cost three million euro.
The Government has previously come under pressure over controversies around public spending, including spiralling costs of the 2.2 billion euro national children’s hospital and the 336,000 euro bike shed at Leinster House, located on the other side of the fence next to the National Gallery.
In 2023, RTE was rocked by a series of controversies around spending and governance at the public service broadcaster, which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue.
The Government agreed a 725 million-euro financing programme for the station over the next three years, until a long-term funding plan is agreed.