Sir, – I suspect the National Gallery’s scanner debacle (“Minister admits embarrassment over scanner”, Home News, February 26th) is replicated widely across the HSE and the third level sector. The Government provides time-limited capital funding, which means a quick scurry to spend it, and the funding never seems to include any money to train or hire someone to operate the new and expensive piece of equipment, nor any funding to create/refurbish space to put it.
If there is to be an inquiry, please could it look at all currently mothballed pieces of expensive equipment to see why they have not/are not being used? It would be highly instructive and might finally enable a sensible procurement strategy to be devised for the public service that doesn’t waste so much taxpayers’ money. – Yours, etc,
RACHEL CAVE,
Bundoran,
Co Donegal
