At yesterday's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health the Secretary General, Jim Breslin, said that he received a formal briefing from the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board on the serious risk of the cost overrun. I understand that three days later Mr. Breslin met with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, at a meeting in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The cost overrun was fresh in his mind. Two issues have occurred here: the Secretary General withheld very serious and important information regarding this capital cost overrun or the Ministers knew unofficially and they are not admitting to that. Either one of these has happened and I want the Minister to bring clarity to that matter. Clearly the biggest capital cost overrun in the State was known to officials in June but we have no information or clarity on the issue and it is important that the Government brings clarity to the House. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, has said that he knew nothing of it until November, three days after the Secretary General received a briefing. Is the Minister saying that Mr. Breslin did not mention a word about the children's hospital at that meeting?

Will the Minister tell the House if he believes it is credible that this information was known by senior people in the Department of Health and kept from the Minister? Do any of the Ministers on the Government benches today believe that this stacks up? Do any of them want to answer this? Will they stand up and say they believe this has credibility? This is beyond a joke at this stage. Nurses and midwives are on the picket lines. Do the Ministers think it is lost on the nurses that the Government has endless money for a children's hospital and not a shilling for nurses? Do the Ministers think that nurses want to see members of the Government sitting in here folding their arms and shrugging their shoulders while saying they will have to wait for the PwC report? We cannot wait. Does this stack up? Does Fine Gael believe it has credibility? I ask the Ministers please to answer the question.

There is no need for shouting.

On the same question, it is not credible for the Minister to say that he was not aware of the report. We need to know if the Minister for Finance came to the House with a budget while knowing there was going to be a massive overrun? Did the Minister for Finance mislead the Dáil with the figures he gave to Members? All parties sit down and do their own pre-budget submission on the figures we believe will happen. Was the Minister well aware that this overrun was going to happen and did he come to the House knowing that fact?

I believe I have answered those questions. I understand, just as the Deputy does, the concerns of the nurses. Just because I am sitting here does not mean that I do not understand that. The initial question from Deputy Jack Chambers was whether the Secretary General had withheld the information or are the Ministers telling the truth. I believe the Ministers are telling the truth. With regard to the question on whether the Secretary General withheld information, the use of "withhold" implies that he did something wrong and I do not believe that he necessarily did anything wrong.