The issue of Government waste is creating great frustration and fury among the general public, from the children's hospital to the Gucci bike shed. The most recent revelation is that the vacant distillery building in Smithfield has cost the State €12 million and has not had people using it. When the Taoiseach was Minister for Health, his Department measured a building incorrectly and spent €10 million on space that did not exist, which is incredible. During Covid, the Government purchased 100 ventilators that did not work and twice the number of ventilators that were necessary. Those ventilators are now being stored in a building.

One topic, please.

This is the issue of Government waste, which is a massive topic, I understand. Those ventilators are still being stored. What is going to happen to those ventilators that cost €100,000, that do not work and that are still being stored? Will the Government use them somewhere as a national monument to Government waste, to be able to celebrate what the Government has done?

Wow. To be so flippant about the efforts that were made.

Flippant?

To be so flippant. Yes, that is what I said. To be so flippant. Do you want me to say it again? To be so flippant about the efforts that were made to save lives in this country, the efforts that were made to secure every possible piece of equipment, every possible piece of PPE-----

That is not the case. You know I am not saying that. The Taoiseach is twisting the question in a horrendous fashion.

Let the Taoiseach answer.

Many worked-----

I am talking about waste. I am not talking about the treatment of Covid, and the Taoiseach knows that.

The Deputy is out of order.

The Taoiseach is out of order.

I am not out of order. I am in order, thank you very much. I am trying to answer your question. You might not like the answer because you just like to stand up and pontificate.

You are answering a different question.

Just let me answer the question, will you? Thank you. The reality of the situation is that so much effort was made by so many good people working in the Department of Health to save lives. That is what they did, and I am proud of them. They did not waste during Covid. They worked really hard during Covid, around the clock, while people like you just threw barbed comments from the sidelines.

What is going to happen to the ventilators? The question was about the ventilators.