Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Public Accounts Committee
Appropriation Accounts 2023
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
11:00 am
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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No apologies have been received.
You are all very welcome. I remind all those in attendance to ensure that your mobile phones are on silent or switched off.
I wish to explain some limitations to parliamentary privilege and the practice of the Houses as regards references witnesses may make to other persons in their evidence. The evidence of witnesses physically present or who give evidence from within the parliamentary precincts is protected, pursuant to both the Constitution and statute, by absolute privilege. This means they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. However, they are expected not to abuse this privilege, and it is my duty as Leas-Chathaoirleach to ensure that this privilege is not abused. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with any such direction.
Members and witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way that makes him or her identifiable. Members are also reminded of the provisions of Standing Order 218, that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policies.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, is a permanent witness to the committee. He is accompanied by Ms Irena Grzebieniak, deputy director of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
This morning, we will engage with representatives from the Office of Public Works to examine the appropriation accounts of 2023, Vote 13, and the Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2023 - chapter 4, adapting flood risk management to climate change impacts, and chapter 5, delivery of rapid-build housing.
We are joined by the following representatives from the Office of Public Works: Mr. John Conlon, chairman; Mr. Robert Mooney, head of planning and climate adaptation; Mr. Jim Casey, head of flood risk management; Ms Cathleen Morrison, head of estate management; Ms Rosemary Collier, head of heritage services; and Mr. Pat Fitzsimons, head of corporate services. We are also joined by Ms Ciara Morgan, principal officer, OPW Vote, Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. You are all very welcome.
I now call the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, to make his opening statement.
Mr. Seamus McCarthy:
The 2023 appropriation account for Vote 13, Office of Public Works, records gross expenditure of €657.5 million. Appropriations-in-aid of the Vote amounted to €27.3 million.
The account is presented under two programme headings. Just under €546 million, or 83% of gross expenditure, was spent on the estate management programme. Almost €112 million, or 17% of the total, was spent on the flood risk management programme.
The OPW provides office and other types of accommodation to other central government Departments and offices, using a combination of leased and State-owned property. The associated costs are a direct charge to the estate management programme. This includes rent payments totalling €105.5 million, property maintenance and supply payments of almost €74 million and public private partnership unitary payments amounting to just over €24 million. Costs associated with the OPW's portfolio of heritage properties amounted to €52.6 million in 2023.
Separate from the building activity charged to Vote 13, the OPW also acts on an agency basis on behalf of other Government Departments and agencies. This mainly relates to the carrying out of major capital works, property maintenance and the leasing of accommodation. The expenditure associated with this agency activity is reflected in the appropriation accounts of the client Departments and agencies.
As indicated in note 2.14, expenditure incurred by the OPW on an agency basis, and not reflected in Vote 13, amounted to €315 million in 2023. The surplus on the vote at the year-end was €16.6 million, which was surrendered back to the Exchequer. I issued a clear audit opinion on the appropriation account, but drew attention to two matters disclosed by the Accounting Officer in the statement on internal financial controls: procurements to the value of €9.3 million in 2023 that were not compliant with public procurement rules and an overpayment of VAT liability of €3.2 million to the Revenue Commissioners that occurred as a result of an error in calculating the November-December 2023 payment. The OPW identified the error shortly after the overpayment occurred, and the full amount was recouped from Revenue in January 2024.
It is generally accepted that many adaptations in infrastructure planning and delivery will be required for Ireland to prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate changes. Chapter 4 of my report on the accounts of the public services for 2023 assesses the progress made in implementing the climate change sectoral adaptation plan for flood risk management, for which the OPW is the lead agency. The report also reviews the governance structure in place in the area of climate change adaptation in Ireland, with the focus on flood risk management.
The adaptation plan for flood risk management includes 21 actions, with 15 groups and organisations responsible for implementing these actions. The OPW is responsible solely or jointly for implementing the highest number of actions.
The 2018 national adaptation framework identified the development of appropriate indicators of climate change adaptation as a priority to enable the monitoring and assessment of progress. The flood risk management adaptation plan identified five interim indicators to be used to measure implementation progress. Two of the selected interim indicators relating to flood risk mapping demonstrate full implementation. However, two other interim indicators related to adaptation planning for individual flood risk management projects reflect very little or no progress between 2019 and 2023. Definitive national adaptation indicators had not yet been defined for Ireland as at June 2024.
The report makes recommendations in the areas of formal reporting mechanisms for progress updates on actions, developing process-based indicators to allow meaningful monitoring of progress and consideration of indicators relating to disaster risk reduction and resilience.
Chapter 5 of my report reviews progress in the delivery of the rapid build programme undertaken to provide accommodation for beneficiaries of temporary protection fleeing from the war in Ukraine. The OPW was tasked with delivering the programme, on an agency basis, on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The programme, which commenced on a pilot basis, set out initially to deliver 500 modular units to accommodate 2,000 persons by February 2023 at an estimated cost of €100 million, or €200,000 per unit. The number of units for delivery was subsequently adjusted, eventually settling at 654 units.
There were significant difficulties in identifying sufficient suitable sites in public ownership to locate the developments and delivery of the units took longer than initially envisaged. The original target of 500 units was achieved in early August 2024, some 17 months later than planned. Approximately 87% of the final revised programme of units has now been delivered at ten sites throughout the country, with the completion of units at the final site now expected around April 2025.
Significant cost overruns have also occurred. Between July 2023 and January 2024, the estimated programme delivery cost was revised at least four times. Latest cost projections at the time of finalisation of my report indicate a final projected average cost per unit of approximately €442,000, an overall increase of approximately 120% in the unit price.
Combined with the increased number of units, this represents overall programme expenditure of €289 million.
A cost reimbursable contract is being used by the OPW to deliver the programme. Under this, the State bears most of the project risk. The OPW has indicated that an assessment of the feasibility of the rapid-build delivery model for future use, including the use of the cost reimbursable contract, will be carried out on completion of the programme and that any lessons learned will be shared with the Office of Government Procurement. Go raibh maith ag an Leas-Chathaoirleach.
11:05 am
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General. As set out in the letter of invitation, I invite Mr. Conlon to make his opening statement. He has five minutes.
Mr. John Conlon:
I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the invitation to attend. As she outlined earlier, I am joined by the members of the OPW management board.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has outlined the main areas of expenditure in our Vote. In addition to dealing with pour accounts, the committee also raised a number of topics for discussion. I will address these in my opening statement.
Beginning with flood relief and climate change adaptation, the OPW implements a range of measures to mitigate the impact of flooding. Some 55 flood relief schemes have been completed, while more than 100 others are under way nationwide. The OPW’s climate change sectoral adaptation plan to ensure that communities are protected against increasing flood risk includes: publication of national flood maps for future climate change scenarios, and also for current risk, in respect of river and coastal flooding; inclusion of adaptation plans for all new flood relief scheme projects since 2019 which ensure that climate change is considered in the design process; and implementing a national programme to develop scheme adaptation plans for pre-existing flood relief schemes.
The Comptroller and Auditor General's report contains a chapter on modular homes. The cost of modular homes is higher than forecast. This is because of the emergency nature of the pilot scheme, complications around sites, access issues and problems with utility connections. However, the homes are a State asset with a lifespan of 60 years. They provide shelter for 2,640 people who fled the war in Ukraine and can be used for social housing in the future. The report also states that the cost of the modular homes project is the equivalent of providing rooms in hotels for five years. By any assessment, it is better to have this new State asset than to be renting hotel rooms for five years. This State asset will be available for a further 55 years.
The report acknowledged that the procurement process was compliant. Some 90% of the programme is complete with 2,300 Ukrainians living at ten sites. These families were accommodated within 13 months which is a relatively short timeframe for housing delivery. An assessment of the delivery of this project will begin shortly and will consider all of the factors.
On the National Children’s Science Centre, planning permission in respect of a site next to the National Concert Hall was granted in March 2024. This project is the subject of arbitration between the Irish Children’s Museum Limited and the OPW. An interim decision in June 2022 found in favour of the Irish Children’s Museum Limited. No financial provision for this project was made in the national development plan due to the ongoing arbitration process and the uncertainty about the timing of the project.
While there is a legal contract, the OPW is conscious that this project should be subject to robust value for money analysis before funding is committed. The delivery of the project will require a Government decision involving considerations including: value for money in a business case; funding for the project and a sponsoring Department; governance arrangements for the delivery; and oversight of the facility when opened. The cost predominantly relates to the restoration of the existing building, which is around 58% of the overall cost, and the sustainable reuse of a protected structure already owned by the State.
In regard to the bicycle shelter in Leinster House, I have taken immediate steps to address value-for-money concerns. The OPW’s audit partner is conducting an independent audit of the project and will recommend measures to strengthen the value for money obtained in respect of future projects. I have already introduced new approval financial thresholds in order that all projects valued at between €200,000 and €500,000 will include cost and value-for-money assessments and management board sign-off. These significant changes will improve governance in our project management process and ensure that value for money is central to how we manage taxpayers' money.
The security pavilion at Government Buildings is critical infrastructure for the security of the campus. It is the main access point for vehicles and the vetting area for several critical locations in the complex. While I acknowledge concerns about the high cost of the pavilion, the works undertaken were on foot of a Garda security review of the campus that highlighted real security threats. We are all aware of these threats and of the need to have the highest security standards in place.
Key features of the project include the following. All lighting, heating, and ventilation control systems are located in the roof to maximise efficiency of space in the pavilion. This accounts for the roof thickness. There is integration of power, communications, data, life safety, security and CCTV systems with the rest of the campus. Special security measures include presence detection, access control, physical anti-ram barriers and a rising ramp and the necessary rerouting of existing underground services
Arising from the report of the forum on a family-friendly and inclusive Parliament in 2021, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is considering whether to use the reading room as a second Chamber or committee room. The OPW was asked to scope out what this means in practical terms. A decision on the future of the room is a matter for the Dáil reform committee and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. I understand that no decision has been taken, and the OPW is not taking any further action at this time.
In relation to procurement, though the Comptroller and Auditor General has reported non-compliance in the OPW, I am committed to improving this area. To address legacy issues, the OPW has already put in place new frameworks to ensure that goods and services are procured compliantly. Furthermore, a new framework for maintenance services valued above €200,000 is
almost complete. From 2025 onwards, all new tender competitions for relevant contracts under this framework will be fully compliant with the new rules. I am committed to establishing a procurement advisory unit and will prioritise intensive procurement training for all staff.
I am happy to expand on these and any other matters the committee wishes to discuss. Before I conclude, I want to mention the staff of the OPW who work hard to deliver for the State. While the organisation has been under considerable scrutiny of late, it is important not to lose sight of the valuable work being done across the country. We cater for 15 million visitors annually to our heritage sites and we deliver projects under the national development plan to the value of almost €4 billion. None of this work would be possible without our people, who are our greatest asset.
I thank the Chairperson for her time. I consider this engagement with the committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General as essential to good governance and accountability and I welcome it.
11:15 am
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The lead speaker today is Deputy Verona Murphy, who will have 15 minutes. All other speakers will have ten minutes. I will allow members back in for a second round of questions and we will take a short break at 12.30 p.m.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I will start with Mr. Conlon's remarks about OPW staff. I agree that we have great staff around the country but, unfortunately, it appears that some staff in Dublin have let those staff down. I do not think the issues we are facing around the precincts of Leinster House actually occur around the country. The disregard seems to be Dublin based. I know several OPW staff who carry out their work very diligently.
Regarding the bike shelter, I note Mr. Conlon's comments on what he is doing going forward and I also note that he was not in the position of chair at the time this was being carried out. I welcome the fact that Mr. Conlon is in the position now. However, it is a bit like closing the door when the horse has bolted, unfortunately. This applies not just to the bike shelter but to many projects going forward. Does the OPW prepare its own estimates on jobs such as the bike shelter before they go out to tender?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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What was the projected cost, pre-tender, for the bike shelter?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It actually came at less than that.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That did not raise any red flags. Okay. The problem is the excuses given for that type of elaborate structure. I have no doubt that the materials in it warrant the cost. However, the question is whether the bike shelter warranted such materials and this question has not been answered. It appears that the answer from everybody is "No" except for Mr. Conlon and the OPW. Nobody is taking responsibility. The Oireachtas Commission has not done so. The Minister has stated unequivocally that it had nothing to do with him. At the committee last week, Mr. Conlon said that the OPW did not want to point the finger at any one individual. Is that correct?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon was not even in position.
11:25 am
Mr. John Conlon:
I am aware of that but I am the accountable officer now. In my review that prepared and published on, I think, 24 September, I was quite candid in saying the level of expenditure on this project was not consistent with the scale of the project under consideration, that is, a covered bicycle facility so I was quite candid in that respect.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon said there was a heritage prospect to the whole project because it was in the confines of Leinster House and it had to be looked at from that perspective. How much did that cost?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Were those conservation aspects given to the two RoanKabins outside the back door of Leinster House? It looks to me like they are two very ordinary RoanKabins you would get in the middle of any haulier's yard in the country. I do not see the correlation between the RoanKabins and this bike shelter.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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At the back door, on the opposite side. They are ordinary RoanKabins. Has Mr. Conlon has seen them?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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This is the Merrion Square side. It is the same side. It is the back door of this building. It is right outside the back door.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Is Mr. Conlon familiar with those cabins?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon is familiar with the portacabins. Yet, he persists in telling us there was a heritage element to the bike shelter. Does he believe that?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It is beginning to sound very much just like an excuse. I suggest the OPW is running out of excuses. The problem with not having accountability is that this is likely to happen again and again, which is the history of the OPW, as far as I have researched, going back 30 years. There has not been much improvement. Mr. Conlon is in a position to cure it. He will be back here next year. I may or may not be but if I am, I will remind him and check everything that has come under his remit. If we do not get accountability, this whole committee is pointless.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I will move on. With regard to the OPW's land banks and modular builds, how much land for building houses does the OPW own or is within the OPW?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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No, not properties - land.
Ms Cathleen Morrison:
We have very few vacant sites available that would be suitable for building houses. At all times, we support other Departments like the Department of integration, the Land Development Agency and agencies like that those have more direct responsibility for the provision of housing. If we identify any surplus lands, they are made available to other State agencies under the protocols laid out by the Department of public expenditure. We have quite a good track record in making lands and buildings available to other agencies in that regard over the past number of years.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Why then did the planning permission lapse on the former Department of Health headquarters this year?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I apologise to Mr. Conlon but on the basis of time, the question is: why did the OPW allow the planning permission to lapse? Why did the OPW not look for an extension?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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How much did it cost to submit the planning application for the site?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I need that figure. I am surprised he does not have that figure. It is fundamental to what we are talking about in a housing crisis. Will Mr. Conlon provide that figure? Before the break, somebody could submit it. I put the question again: why did the OPW allow the planning permission to lapse and not seek an extension?
Usually, planning of this scale runs into the hundreds of thousands. It is not a difficult process to have it extended.
11:35 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Will Mr. Conlon answer the question I asked, please? If he does not, I will ask the Chair to intervene. Why did Mr. Conlon not seek an extension?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Maybe Ms Morrison is aware of why an extension was not sought. Is there anybody present who understands why the planning was not extended?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It was not just for an office block.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It was just for an office block.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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An application to alter the permission could have been made.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The witnesses will get that figure. Does the fact that Mr. Conlon was not in the position make asking questions a pointless exercise?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Why was the site not sold with planning permission?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The OPW had planning permission in respect of it for nearly eight years.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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However, nobody ever entertained the idea of allowing somebody else to build on that site.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I should hope so, because, given the OPW's record on modular builds, it is probably not something we should consider for the taxpayer's sake.
Let us go to the modular build. This committee was previously informed, as the C and AG pointed out, that it was estimated that 500 units would cost €100 million. We are at nearly three times that figure. I recall asking about the sites that were being used. I was told that the sites being provided were not suitable to build houses on.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That is correct. However., Mr. Conlon is now saying that these are State assets and can be used in the future for social housing.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Are these modular builds part M compliant? I am reliably informed that they are not, even though I see Ms Collier nodding her head. Does Mr. Conlon know what part M is?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Does Mr. Conlon know which regulation part M pertains to?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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They are not compliant when it comes to wheelchair accessibility apparently. Is there anyone here who can categorically say that they are? Ms Collier was nodding her head but she has stopped doing so. Does that mean she cannot categorically state that they are compliant in the context of wheelchair accessibility?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Who inspected them? I am reliably informed that they are not compliant. I am also reliably informed that they are not compliant with parts N or Z. Can the witnesses state whether or not they are compliant? The BER rating is significantly lower than would be the case for a three-bed house that meets the regulations. What is the BER rating for the modular builds?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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What is the PV facility?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Is that cost included or is it additional to the €442,000?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Will Mr. Conlon hold on and not go too fast? When he says it is under consideration, that would mean it is on top of the €442,000.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That does not sound like confidence to me. It means it is under negotiation. There seems to be a discussion or a disagreement. Is there?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Now is the time to give us the facts.
11:45 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We were at €289 million. Is this the same person who was contracted to provide the modular build? Is a different contractor providing the solar panels?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon, as Chair of the OPW, is telling this committee and the public in general that the final cost of the modular build at an A1 rating, including solar panels fitted, is €442,000.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That is not the question. The cost per unit is currently €442,000. Is Mr. Conlon saying that is without the fitting of solar panels? Is it the case that when that is completed, the cost is not going to change?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Will the cost change from €442,000 per unit?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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He expects it to stay the same.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That is an undertaking that we have, even though the project is three times over the initial budget. What happened that meant an estimate of €100 million ended up costing nearly three times that?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It did not turn out to be much of an emergency response. It took nearly 20 months longer to put the units in place. As for the sites, ere they ever zoned for housing or serviced in any shape or form? Was the figure of €100 million a cost that went out to tender to Sisk or did Sisk come in with that price?
Mr. John Conlon:
In terms of zoning, I am not clear. In terms of the serviced sites, very few of the sites were adequately serviced, which gave rise to the huge cost escalation due to poor site conditions and servicing. We had to develop these sites to a state whereby they could be serviced properly, which gave rise to the significant cost escalation.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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There will be an opportunity come back in.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Was the figure of €100 million an amount that was tendered or was it the proposed cost of the project given to Sisk?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Did Sisk tender for €100 million?
Mr. John Conlon:
As I understand it, when the tender went out it gave rise to a figure not of €100 million but higher costs subsequently. It was tendered in such a way that it was kind of a dynamic environment whereby we used a particular form of contract which allowed Sisk to develop and bill us. As the costs increased for various reasons outlined, that happened.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It was an open-ended contract.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I will allow the Deputy back in. I am sure others will pick up on this point as well.
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for being here this morning and wish Mr. Conlon every success in his role. I want to focus on one element of the work in the ten minutes I have, namely, the proposed development of the National Children's Science Centre. What Mr. Conlon has presented to us is a debacle. If this goes ahead, it will dwarf bike sheds and security huts in terms of the commitment the taxpayer will make to developing the National Children's Science Centre as currently proposed and constituted.
The original idea and concept behind all of this is quite simple. The OPW owed a site near Heuston Station, which would be sold to a developer. As part of the sale, the developer would agree to develop, at no charge to the State, the National Children's Science Centre in that location. From a public transport point of view, that would be a very positive development. That agreement was entered into during the height of the Celtic tiger.
Post the crash, I am mystified as are many others as to why that arrangement still somehow seems to garner some degree of respect and has obliged the OPW, in essence, to continue on the road to expending a very significant amount of money on a National Children's Science Centre. Why does Mr. Conlon believe that the original contract is still valid if the entire basis on which it is based no longer stands? Has the OPW done a cost-benefit analysis on the project and if so, what is the current cost it is attributing to its investment - the State's investment - in the National Children's Science Centre at the location currently proposed, which is adjacent to the National Concert Hall?
11:50 am
Mr. John Conlon:
As regards the legal position we are in, the Deputy is correct in stating it dates back to a 2003 initiative. The real legal conundrum that I have as Accounting Officer is a 2013 agreement that the OPW entered into with the National Children’s Science Centre, which gave rise to the legal commitment we have now. That was done following the initiation of arbitration proceedings by the company - the National Children's Science Centre - and following legal advices received during the 2013 negotiation, that agreement was signed. That gives rise to the legal position I as Accounting Officer find myself in now.
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Has there been a cost-benefit analysis carried out on the development of the project?
Mr. John Conlon:
No. As I have indicated in my opening statement and in the material I submitted it to the committee, we still have to find a funder for this project. I have had some discussions with the Secretary General of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in respect of that Department stepping in to be a funder of this project. The Department will consider that in due course and at that stage, I consider that a value for money business case to underpin the whole project needs to be done by that funding Department to seek agreement on the funding and to move forward on that basis. There will also have to be regard to the governance arrangements for the project moving on. The OPW finds itself in a position where it is contracted to build but not to manage or to be the funder of this facility, even though the legal position is that we have to build it, unfortunately.
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Bearing in mind that many of us are involved with communities across the country which have been subjected to serious flooding in the last couple of decades. When we approach the OPW as an entity to begin working with them and developing flood relief projects, these projects quite rightly are subjected to a rigorous and robust cost-benefit analysis process. I am at a loss to understand why this process has not been employed at some point during the 11 years since the contract was signed. Is Mr. Conlon aware of any analysis that was ever carried out of what this might cost and what the current estimates circulating within the OPW as to what it might cost? I am hearing something in the order of €80 million to €100 million.
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The OPW does not have that right now?
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The OPW was asked to provide a note on the failure to disclose the legally binding commitment in the appropriation accounts for 2022. Its response at the time was that the OPW was liaising with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General on this issue in the context of finalising the 2023 appropriation accounts. Why is that commitment still not included in that 2023 appropriation account?
Mr. John Conlon:
We have had discussions with the Comptroller and Auditor General on this and we have included some text in the appropriation account to that effect. We can get that out. When that arbitration decision is fully crystallised, it then becomes a full contingent liability. Maybe the Comptroller and Auditor General would like to make some comment on that?
Mr. Seamus McCarthy:
I can read the text, which is in note 2.13:
In addition the OPW has a commitment to deliver the National Children's Science Museum. As the project is subject to an arbitration process that is not yet finalised, the estimated value of this commitment has not been included in this account.
12:00 pm
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Let us take the OPW's estimate of €70 million, bearing in mind how inaccurate some estimates have proven to be within the OPW recently in developing much smaller developments. Does it not cause Mr. Conlon a great degree of concern that the OPW is proposing to spend €70 million, at a minimum, on a national children's science centre in the middle of Dublin, a very busy city, which makes it immensely difficult to get to for the children from across the country I assume we are hoping to serve? Furthermore, there is a facility called Explorium 10 km away which offers an excess of 350 interactive exhibits, a 120-seat theatre and 11,000 sq. m of ample space for future growth. It has 20 acres of car and bus parking and is a five-minute drive from the M50. It is 10 km from the site the OPW is currently proposing to develop. Has anyone from the OPW ever visited that facility and done an analysis of the likely costs associated with acquiring and, if necessary, upgrading that facility for it to serve as the national children's science centre?
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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It is not a question of it feeling threatened. I am suggesting it should become the national children's science centre, bearing in mind it is already there and is visited by up to 250,000 children every year. With an investment of a fraction of the €70 million of taxpayers' money we are proposing to spend, which I still think is a very conservative estimate, it could and should become a world-class science centre that we as a nation can be proud of.
Mr. John Conlon:
I have mentioned already in response to some of the Deputy's questions that I would like to see, in conjunction with the Department of tourism if it is a funder, to get a full business case value-for-money assessment done on this. I expect any assessment done in that context would have regard to-----
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The potential of other facilities.
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Has anyone from the OPW ever visited Explorium to see the facilities there?
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Did the chairman and his officials publish any internal documents, report or correspondence engaging with other colleagues on the pros and cons of such a development?
Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I get the sense Mr. Conlon is not happy to find himself in this particular position.
Mr. John Conlon:
In terms of where this may go, it is going to involve, in my view, further consideration of Government, having regard to what I have outlined in terms of value-for-money assessments, business cases and the impact it may have on other businesses. If I did not say that and it was not done, it would look very odd for me.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the witnesses for being here on a day the Committee of Public Accounts does not normally sit. This speaks to the importance of why we are here. This committee supervises our audits and the billions of euro that is spent. The idea that an expenditure of €336,000 would draw our attention speaks to the point as regards this issue, namely, that many people cannot get their heads around how anyone could sign off on bike parking facilities costing that sum of money.
My colleague, Deputy Verona Murphy, said that we may or may not be here next year when the witnesses come back to present next year's accounts but I can tell them that every single time any of us in on a canvass, somebody mentions the bike shed. We are being held to account for the actions the OPW has taken. It has fundamentally undermined the trust and confidence the public has in all public spending. I cannot tell Mr. Conlon the damage the OPW has caused to really important public projects. When local authorities transform a park, people are going to ask how much it cost. I am really frustrated that we are here for such a small amount of money but an incredible amount of waste.
I will ask for some facts first before I go any further on that. The OPW is the owner of the Leinster House building but the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission represents those who occupy it. Is that correct?
12:10 pm
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Therefore, requests to improve the building and so on come from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Is there any process for auditing whether requests are reasonable or unreasonable?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The question was – and I imagine this applies to all buildings in which the OPW has people who occupy – does the OPW have a protocol for auditing requests?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Is there a formal process?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Therefore there is no formal process?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Conlon can call it that. That is fine. Let us move to the next point. Who in the Office of Public Works received the request from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that. Who in the OPW received a request from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The question was: who in the OPW received it?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Therefore the Dublin conservation team are the people who received it.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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And it would also have been responsible for carrying out the estimate?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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And having overall project management of the project as it developed.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Dublin conservation team is the group of people who are responsible for this project, is that correct?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is fine. How many people make up that Dublin conservation team?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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How many people sit within the Dublin conservation team?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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There are 21 people. What grades exist within that team?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Who is the most senior person in the team?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that. That is the organisation chart. What is the most senior grade?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The principal officer is the most senior grade in that team.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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There are 21 people. Is there a technical staff there too, as well as administrative staff?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Is there any formal process within that team which evaluates requests that come in from people who occupy the OPW’s buildings?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Dunsink Observatory is one of the OPW’s properties. If Dunsink Observatory and DIAS, which I know well, asked for a gold-plated train to bring it to the city centre I am sure the OPW would reject that, right? What are the criteria by which the OPW assesses requests?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I agree, yes.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Has the OPW provided bike-parking facilities in other office buildings for other Departments?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Then comes the opportunity to spec it. There is approximately €120,000 for steelwork and glass; around €50,000 for groundworks; and around €40,000 for the granite paving. Then there are two figures for preliminaries and day works. As Deputy Murphy said, I can somewhat justify that the materials in the glass and the steel could come to that figure but I have a real question about the granite paving. Who decided that granite paving was essential for the project?
Given that it cost half the price of the structure, would that have been decided solely by the Dublin conservation team?
12:20 pm
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Of course, yes.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I park my car every day on perfectly good tarmac in Leinster Lawn; it does not detract from the building. Who decided that granite paving was essential?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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By the Dublin conservation team.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That was one of the areas where there is a glaring waste of money when the paving was half the cost of the structure above it. I ask Ms Collier to bear with me. We then get to the groundworks. What did the groundworks entail?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That was approximately €10,000.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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On site, it would appear that some of the groundworks we have seen carried out, are connected for EV chargers that are immediately adjoining it. Is that correct?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Did the groundworks connect them to those EV chargers?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Looking at the works, several trenches connect the EV charger points with the bike shelter.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Therefore, the EV chargers is a separate project.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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How much was that project?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Who owns those EV chargers?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Are they owned by the OPW or by the company?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Is the charging that happens in the bike shelter connected somehow to the EV chargers?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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They are separate companies - separate supplies.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Are they separate entities?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am still grappling with the €50,000 for groundworks, which is somehow a separate project from the €112,000. It is remarkable that a project that we thought was €350,000 has an adjoining project of €120,000. The real problem here is that people expect that when something happens in this building, we have some line of sight and supervision, and we know in some way the costs. Is Ms Collier essentially telling me that no elected Member of the House knew anything about the price of this project?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is the problem. The public believe that we run this building. Whether we do or do not, the public believe that we run this building. The idea that money can be spent in such an outlandish way without any elected Member of this House knowing about it is a clear failure of the process. The fact that there is no audit of the requests in a formalised process is a clear lack of process and is a clear problem.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Unfortunately, we are closing the door after the horse has bolted on this.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I will briefly return to the bike shelter and I echo my colleagues' comments. The Leas-Chathaoirleach and I have been around this committee the longest. The biggest issue we have ever dealt with is the national children's hospital. As regards commentary among the public, a €2.2 billion project is put in the ha'penny place by a bike shed out at the back of this building when it comes to the public's consciousness. All of us feel that because it is constantly brought up. It was brought up with me yesterday. It is brought up all the time.
Fundamentally, the OPW has undermined the public service and the way in which the public service spends money, when public sees a bike shed and sees how much it should cost. There are contractors who have publicly said they could have done eight of them for the same price. It is not comprehensible to people who are trying to manage budgets. There is an ongoing detrimental issue in public spending because of this where the public now must second guess projects all the bloody time. That is the impact of it. In some cases the works being done on projects are very valuable and very worthwhile. In some cases, they come in under what had been estimated, but this is the impact it has had. There is also the famous security hut.
My first question is: are there any other projects we need to know about? Let us clean the slate here. Is there anything else, or projects like this, that we need to know about as the Committee of Public Accounts? My colleague spoke about the science museum, which I am well aware of, because it came up during the last term in a previous committee I was on. Are there any other projects that jump out that we need to be aware of? If not, then we will just move on.
12:30 pm
Mr. John Conlon:
On that point, which Deputy McAuliffe also made, I fully acknowledged the anger this has caused. It is something that, as a member of the community, I feel as well. People come up to me and give out to me about this. I am fully aware of the real anger that members face on this. I have acknowledged that in my review. I am being quite upfront. It was an extraordinary cost for the provision of an ordinary bike shelter. It is something that we in the OPW need to reflect on seriously. I fully acknowledge that.
With regard to other projects, I do not believe there is anything of this dimension-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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So there is nothing we need to be aware of. It is really an opportunity for Mr. Conlon because this is the Committee of Public Accounts. There is nothing-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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In fairness to the three previous speakers, they have asked Mr. Conlon a number of questions and they have given him the opportunity and he said, as is his right, that he was not in position then. However, Mr. Conlon has been in position now for a while. Mr. Conlon has made it clear that he is not aware of anything else. That is fine.
I find the situation with the modular homes astonishing. I will start at the very beginning before we get into the actual details of the spend here. How did the OPW end up with this? For me it was bizarre that the OPW ended up doing this work in the first place. Did the OPW fight back? I believe it logically would have been the Department of housing, given the local authority nature of what was required since it is over housing. How did the OPW end up with this and did it fight back against it?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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If there is someone else here who can answer that and who was there previous to Mr. Conlon, then that is fine.
Mr. John Conlon:
I will take it first, if the Deputy does not mind. With the response to the Ukrainian situation at that particular time a senior officials' group was meeting under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach. At that stage the senior officials' group asked the OPW to come forward with some proposals in relation to the development of modular home capacity in the country. The OPW took on that task. I am not clear why the Department of housing did not.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Did the OPW expect this project?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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So was it a case of share the workload.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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It is not a natural skill for the OPW if Mr. Conlon does not mind me saying so
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I understand that but to have to navigate the whole situation in relation to people coming into the country. With ground works and all of that sort of stuff, surely the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage was a more natural fit.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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It is for the Government to answer. I just wanted to know how the OPW ended up with it.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Okay. Can we get into the costs of the units? The OPW went out to tender and brought in John Sisk. Was it Sisk that won the tender?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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From the notes I see it appointed five different contractors.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Yes. Were any of those contractors in any way owned by John Sisk as well?
12:40 pm
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Was there any shareholding in the five of them?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Mr. Fitzsimons might have information on that. Was one of the contractors a subsidiary of the main contractor?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I want to get into the timelines here. The cost comes to an average of between €130,000 and €160,000 per unit. Is that correct?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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When it comes to the overall cost, will Mr. Conlon explain how in the name of God did they get to what is now the final figure?
Mr. John Conlon:
----has been not just sites but also the utility connections. Some of these sites were quite some way from utility connections. The cost to bring utilities to the sites was significant, as was that relating to site clearance. As outlined in the report, various elements of that were significant.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I saw the reports. If the average was coming in at €145,000 and the cost is coming in at-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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-----€442,0000, that means it is €297,000 for site works per unit. That is absolutely beyond stupid.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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How can we go to the public on this matter? For once, I am not blaming the OPW. The fact that the OPW was doing this was wrong. I have gone through all of the replies to my parliamentary questions - I submitted a pile of them on this - and the timelines put out in October 2022 involved a lead-in time of ten weeks for the first phase of 250 units. That is what it said. Did that happen?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Of course it did not happen. I know it did not happen. I am just confirming it. I asked the Department of children, which had responsibility in this regard. I then asked the Department of public expenditure the same thing at the end of October. It stated that the initial 250 would be installed during January and February 2023. Did that happen?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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When were the first 250 units finally concluded?
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I am sure the witnesses have it.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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From ten weeks in the third quarter of 2022, it ended up, as I understand it, not just in the middle of 2023 but significantly later than that. There were the other 250 after that. What consequences were there for the contractor? Were there any consequences or was it all just blamed on the issues with sites? In other words, were the units delivered?
Mr. John Conlon:
I will get some data on that, which might be helpful in the context of the conversation. The Cork city site commenced in October 2022 and was completed in May 2023. The Cavan site started in November 2022 and was completed in August 2023. The Thurles site started in December 2022-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I know all about the Thurles site.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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We can check all of those out. For the benefit of members of the public watching these proceedings, a contractor came in to do work for the OPW. What has probably not been in the public domain is the fact that the contracts averaged out at €145,000 but that the actual cost averaged out at €442,000. This means a cost of €297,000 for site works. That is beyond comprehensible for any member of the public watching this.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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They should not have been picked.
12:50 pm
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I agree with Mr. Conlon on that. The OPW should never have been doing this but that does not save the taxpayers’ money.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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We have the Land Development Agency Where was it in all of this?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Deputy Kelly’s time is up. I will briefly follow on from that. I remember the OPW being before this committee previously talking about these modular homes before they started. We were told they could be picked up and lifted somewhere else. As has been pointed out, there is a huge amount of money that cannot be picked up and moved elsewhere, such as money spent on site works, enabling works and all the rest of it.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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While Mr. Conlon may not have said it, it was said in a previous hearing of this committee when we talked about the prices of these homes going way back.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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It makes no sense to me either. Do they have planning permission for anything other than their current use? Do they require planning permission if they are being used for something else?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Okay. I now move to Deputy O'Connor.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that 12 months have passed since Storm Babet. A huge body of work has been undertaken locally by the local authority and in conjunction with the OPW in 2023 in trying to advance the Midleton flood relief scheme, which has been long overdue. I wish to acknowledge that at the start of my remarks. I might come back to Mr. Casey with a few questions on this matter towards the end of my time.
Ultimately, we are here because of two incredibly high-profile sagas, one involving a ridiculous costing for a bike shelter and the other, which we have since learned about, involving an exorbitant amount of money spent on a fancy security hut at the side of Government Buildings. Public outrage has been enormous, and rightly so. I want to establish today, having listened to Mr. Conlon’s last exchange on this matter, the decision-making process in full. Who makes the decision around what infrastructure needs to be built and provided in Leinster House? The public has, obviously, laid the blame at the foot of public representatives. We need to get answers to very important questions. Ultimately, who sought the development of the bike shelter? Can the witnesses please give the committee an insight into how that request came about? Whose idea it was?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Okay. How many Members requested this work?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Was the letter issued to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the OPW directly, or was it referred onto them by An Ceann Comhairle?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Right. Does Ms Collier have a copy of that correspondence?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Can she provide that letter to me?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Can Ms Collier provide the names of the Members on that list?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Can Ms Collier find that information for me now?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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We need that information before the end of the meeting.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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There needs to be accountability on this. It is hard to know where to start.
For an agency in charge of 2,500 properties across the State, there is an unmerciful amount of, what we call, blindfolded trust on the OPW's side of the table. This has done inordinate damage to the reputation of our national Parliament and to the public's perception of what the State is spending hard-earned taxpayers' money on. Ultimately, we need to get a full understanding in that respect.
As for the security hut, has Mr. Conlon gone down to see it? Has he walked it and seen the security hut?
1:00 pm
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Has he gone down to see the new building?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Does Mr. Conlon believe it represents value for taxpayers, at a cost of €1.4 million? I do not want to hear any excuses around advanced security features. There are no armed security personnel operating out of it. As I see it, it is a brass roof on a box of glass. I want to understand what are Mr. Conlon's thoughts on spending more than €1.4 million on that piece of infrastructure, which is a glorified container?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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No, Mr. Conlon can answer the question he was asked.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Is he referring to a knee-high gate that automatically opens?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Is there something like an ejector seat in there? I went down to see it, as I considered that prudent, before I came here today to speak about it. I did not see any of the things Mr. Conlon is talking about. I saw a glass security box with a few CCTV cameras and a ramp to stop vehicles from passing through. I cannot understand how that cost €1.4 million.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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For the benefit of the public, will Mr. Conlon outline them again?
Mr. John Conlon:
I will go through some of here. In regard to the mechanical, electrical and security systems, these added up to €558,000. Of that, €80,000 went on scaffolding and setting out the works and preliminaries; €30,000 went on site servicing, heating, ventilation, pipe services and fire suppression equipment; €64,000 went on electrical distribution, general services and lighting-----
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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How much did Mr. Conlon say was spent on fire safety?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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It is an enormous amount of money for a glass square.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Would a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher not suffice instead of €41,000?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I am being very fair.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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There are no gardaí in it.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I do not for one second take away the serious security issues on Merrion Street. Somebody was able to drive around Dublin of an evening and drive into the gates of Áras an Úachtaráin. The same person was then able to come down to Merrion Street and drive into the gates of the Department of the Taoiseach and then into the gates of Leinster House, and get away with it. That says a lot. That is more a policing issue. I do not believe it is for the OPW. However, ultimately, this is a facility that is not manned by An Garda Síochána. I do not for a second believe it merited the spending €1.4 million on that facility itself. I will give Mr. Conlon a piece of homework from today's meeting and that is to go down and have a look at it, if he has not been down to see it. It is as ridiculous as it looks. The public is right to be angry about it.
Mr. John Conlon:
As I said, it is quite an expensive project. I have acknowledged that. A great deal of work has gone into it that is not seen in terms of the mechanical, electrical and security systems, some of which are overground and some are in the roof. It is also integrated into an overall complex. All of that costs money.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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We are not getting anywhere. I want us to reflect on the second part.
In regard to the bike shelter, is information available yet on who the requests came from? Do we have to wait until afterwards?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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That is perfect. In the final two minutes that remain to me, I am sorry to frustrate other members of the committee about domestic matters in Cork East, but Storm Babet was major. It flooded nearly 700 homes and businesses. I appreciate the amount of time Mr. Casey has spent down there. It has been noticed.
I want the witnesses to keep coming. I do not want to continuously undermine and criticise them. It is good that they have been to visit the community a few times. Where are we at in terms of the main flood relief scheme?
1:10 pm
Mr. Jim Casey:
Work is progressing on the main Midleton flood relief scheme. We have effectively concluded stage 1, the design stage, and we estimate that we will be going to planning in September of next year.
The Deputy will appreciate that after Storm Babet and the very severe impact it had on the community we had to look very closely at that event, how it unfolded, and whether the scheme we had designed to that stage was going to be effective in mitigating that type of event going forward. We spent some time looking at that. I am happy to confirm that the design we have for the Midleton scheme will be effective in mitigating flood risk to more than 700 properties in Midleton. We are working hard to bring that forward into the planning stage towards September next year.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Does the local authority have the full team of resources on the ground that it needs to do all the advanced scoping on this project? Quite a few requests have come in from John Slattery.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I will come back to this issue in my second time slot because it is quite important.
Mr. Jim Casey:
I am happy to answer that. We have engaged a lot in recent months with Cork County Council about resources. I am pleased to advise that the Minister has approved five additional resources to Cork County Council, to add to the existing four. We have a team of nine engineers, and project management and administrative staff now supporting all of the flood relief schemes in Cork, including the one in Midleton.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe as teacht os comhair an choiste.
I appreciate that Mr. Conlon has come in to answer these questions post the decision-making, although he was not there. It can be difficult to answer for the actions of others but I appreciate that he has come before the committee.
I want to start with the modular homes. Could he confirm to me what the construction sector inflation was for the period from their tendering to the final cost?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Does he agree that it would not be 120%?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The issue is that it was 120%. I want to get to the bottom of why that is the case. We had the LDA before the committee just two weeks ago. We found out that the production of non-modular units in Shanganagh cost €409,000, which seems like a huge sum of money, but we are talking about modular homes with a lifespan of 50 years to 60 years – rather than permanent structures – that are costing an additional €32,000. Does Mr. Conlon agree that it must seem bizarre to the majority of people?
Mr. John Conlon:
I fully agree that it is very difficult for us to explain, but as I indicated on a number of occasions and, as is clearly outlined in a chapter of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, we were dealing with very poor, small sites and we were not able to achieve the economies of scale we would like to achieve in site development.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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We have all said there was an utter disregard of taxpayers' money in this instance. That is what people think. Could Mr. Conlon answer my question on that?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Then why were we told initially that it would be €200,000? It is a massive increase.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Who was responsible for the underestimation? Was it the contractor?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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We have the public sector spending code for a reason.
What I understand is that the Department of children and equality did not prepare a strategic assessment report or business case reports, preliminary and final, as required by the code for projects costing more than €100 million. Does that not seem strange?
1:20 pm
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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But Mr. Conlon would agree that it is strange.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I understand the difference between what happens in an emergency situation but it is my understanding, and the C and AG might confirm to me, that it was subject to and should have been compliant with the public sector spending code. Am I correct?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I understand sometimes it is different when it comes to emergency procurement - we saw it in Covid and had issues with it - but, in this instance, it should comply with the public sector spending code.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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In this instance, are we not still awaiting full delivery of all the units?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Okay, so we are still awaiting some of these to be fully given out to-----
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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In my view, if we are still waiting that completion, there seems to be urgency required in terms of the tendering rather than the urgency in terms of the delivery, and I think that is concerning for people.
Regarding the after effect, we have all stated on the record that we are deeply concerned about the cost of this. Actually, before I go into that, one of the questions asked by Deputy Murphy was related to solar panels. At this point, I am not fully confident that will not add to the cost of the delivery of these homes. I understand that Mr. Conlon is, but I will be very clear that I am not.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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We will find out in due course and that information will be public. We all hope it will be. That is what we would expect.
Regarding the costs being revised, they were revised on multiple occasions. Between July 2023 and January 2024, they were revised on at least four occasions. In seven months, we have four cost revisions. Would that be considered normal for a project?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate it is not a normal project because it is costing the taxpayer €289 million. I saw from another report that in 2023 the OPW's turnover was approximately €654 million. Is that correct? Therefore, I take it that it is a significant project. However, with cost revisions, is it the taxpayer who takes all the risk? Is it our side that takes all the risk? What risk is there for the contractor?
Mr. John Conlon:
Because of the form of contract we used, which was a responsive type of contract to a developing situation, it meant the taxpayer took most of the risk. We felt by using other types of contract, it would have been difficult to procure and develop it along the way because of the dynamic situation.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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It is not on the OPW but it seems to me that it is always the taxpayer that ends up bearing the risk when it comes to cost overruns. Again, that is not on the OPW; it is on this House. It is on us to provide the regulation and the legislation to ensure that does not happen in the future. Again, that is not on the OPW.
Regarding going forward with these modular homes, what is the story as regards who will manage them going forward? Is that a private contractor? Surely, there needs to be management of that.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate that is not on the OPW but I definitely would like to see who ends up doing it, where that money is and what the cost will end up being.
Regarding the bike shelter, for those watching, it is important to note that it is not a bike shelter and not a bike shed, as has been reported.
If it was a bike shed, you might understand but it is simply a bike shelter. I note that Mr. Conlon says a measured term maintenance contract was used; that is obviously normal enough. What is the timeline for this particular framework and how many projects are left in that one?
1:30 pm
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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That sounds good, okay. That was a good idea after that.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Is that because of cost overruns?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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No matter what happened with the bike shelter costing €336,000 and so on, is it correct that the OPW would still at this point have had to tender another framework? I just want to understand it.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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How many projects were in that contract?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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It is only because I have a minute left so I am sorry that I have to make it urgent.
Mr. John Conlon:
There are three types of works we do under the contract, namely, small reactive call-outs, planned maintenance works and small-scale projects. On the small reactive call-outs, we have completed approximately 8,400 different projects. On planned maintenance works, we have completed 2,800 and we have completed approximately 161 small-scale projects.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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In general, were there cost overruns on many of them? How many ran over percentage-wise?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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What was the overrun in the totality?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I note the external review of the OPW carried out in 2014. I understand there were two reviews; one of which had 60-plus recommendations while the previous one had 12 or something like that. How many recommendations from the second review related to recommendations that had previously been stated in the previous review? In the 2014 external review it states the "OPW operates largely on personal relationships and experience".
Does Mr. Conlon ensure there is data in relation to that? Does Mr. Conlon ensure there is an examination of how many of those projects had cost overruns, who was responsible for those cost overruns and whether value for money was achieved on these? As we have already figured out, it is the taxpayer who bears the brunt and risk in respect of all this. Have you actioned those reports and reviews?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Has the OPW looked at that whole issue of data collection in terms of the contractors, the tenders, what costs ran over when the taxpayer takes the risk, that kind of thing?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Does the OPW look at that centrally?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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If I wanted to buy one of these modular homes, and I am actually quite familiar with them because Backweston is very near to where I live and the biggest development is there. The modular units are very small. They obviously come in pairs. If I was to buy one of those, without the enabling works and all the rest of it, how much would one of those cost?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The cost is €145,000. Mr. Conlon reckons the enabling works cost €55,000 or something like that.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Mr. Conlon and all the other witnesses. Turning to the bike shelter for a few minutes, I do not know if Mr. Conlon saw anybody taking photographs with it on his way in. I say that in jest but I say it with a tinge of seriousness because I often see people, through the National Gallery fence, getting selfies with the bike shelter. That shows how serious the cost overruns on this project have been. The OPW has acknowledged that and I welcome that acknowledgement.
For one of his first appearances here at the Committee of Public Accounts in this role, it is good for us to engage with Mr. Conlon but for him to realise the seriousness of the situation at hand.
Deputy McAuliffe referred to the fact that this matter is being raised by the public at large to this day. They are aghast at the cost overrun. An obscene amount of money has been spent. I know Ms Collier said she will furnish us with a copy of the correspondence, which is welcome. That is something we should see because obviously it involves a request from the body politic to the commission, which forwarded it to the OPW. The witnesses highlighted what I think they called "the Dublin team", the group in the OPW that assesses the requests from various "tenants" - for want of a better word - of its buildings. When the witnesses were speaking earlier, I was thinking about all the requests related to Garda stations, including in respect of wiring, works to be done and facilities. For months, if not years, gardaí were looking for works to be done at the station in Kill of the Grange. The week that station was closed – I kid you not – the OPW went in and carried out fire works on the building. You could not make it up. Think of the amount of money spent. I raised this with the OPW a number of years ago at a meeting of this committee because I found it galling that the works were done just before the station was closed. It made no sense. Equally, the cost overrun related to the project under discussion does not make any sense.
Once the request went from the Oireachtas Commission to the Dublin team, who assessed the location required for a covered shelter?
1:40 pm
Ms Rosemary Collier:
There would have been an internal process of options appraisal for locations around the campus, and the team would have considered a number of locations to see where it might find somewhere suitable to locate a shelter. Those options would have been discussed in an iterative way with the facilities management team here in the Houses of the Oireachtas. That is broadly how the process would have worked.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Was any consideration given to another covered shelter on, say, the Kildare Street side of the campus?
Ms Rosemary Collier:
Initially, the request was to put in covered shelter facilities as near to Leinster House as possible. Our advices for the members and the commission would have been that, to protect the historic fabric of the campus and the presentation of the campus, locating a covered shelter anywhere near the historic buildings would not be suitable or appropriate.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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By "near", does Ms Collier mean on the campus near the main building or off the campus, in the public domain?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Was there a subsequent request for another bike shelter to be built before this one was constructed?
Ms Rosemary Collier:
Not that I am aware of, no. We would have looked at options for locations. Effectively, back of house would have been our preference so there would be no impact on the visuals or vista to Leinster House on either the Kildare Street side or the Merrion Square side. We would have looked at a number of options around the area.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A much-lower-cost project, I would hope, would involve the existing bike shelters beside the security hut. I will get to the other security hut in a second. At the security hut here in Leinster House, there are freestanding bike stands. Was any consideration given to expanding this site and simply attaching a roof to the existing security hut, maybe at a fraction of the cost?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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On the Merrion Square side.
Ms Rosemary Collier:
Yes. It would have impacted the vista. That was looked at. A number of locations around the Leinster Lawn side were looked at and things that impacted on the vista to Leinster House were ruled out as not appropriate to the setting. Part of the reason the shelter is designed as it is is that when you look straight at Leinster House, you do not have poles, pillars and covered structures blocking the view of it.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It is in a great location for those in the National Gallery of Ireland visitor area. These visitors are getting great photographs of the shelter.
With regard to the location chosen, I made inquiries in the Houses of the Oireachtas because we were not aware of what the excavation works entailed and how long they were going on. It materialised that there was a huge amount of time between the beginning of the works and their end. There was no sign of an ending; there was just excavation for months on end. Could Ms Collier clarify when the excavation began and when it eventually finished?
Ms Rosemary Collier:
The contractors mobilised on site in August 2023 and did the initial archaeology work and excavation.
There was an issue of historic drains relating to the National Gallery and some other materials that were found in the ground that had to be removed. There were some minor demolitions. We had to-----
1:50 pm
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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When was the infamous granite laid?
Ms Rosemary Collier:
That would have been laid in March of 2024. Just to be clear; there was a pause. During the summer recess the initial excavation started. We left the compound in place and came off site. That was always part of the plan. We finished out the design in terms of what was required for drainage, underground drains and the base and then we went back in at the start of January and it was completed in April 2024. The actual construction period was really January to April, about three and a half months.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Does the €335,000 incorporate all costs associated with the construction, design and the internal team costs? Is everything included in it?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Although I heard what the witnesses said about the EV charging points, why were they not part and parcel of the cost if they were constructed at the same time? Obviously, if we include them, we are talking about €447,000.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Ms Collier mentioned the actual charging points for the bike shelter itself earlier. They have not been switched on and that is a separate contract but is that all included in the cost?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The charging points are not there yet-----
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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If it was finished in March 2024, at what point did the cost overruns become apparent? Was that through the public domain, via the media? When was it apparent that this was a runaway train?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Okay, but the amount of money that was spent on the project was obviously hugely more than the average Joe punter would give for a bike shelter. In fact, a lot of commercial companies were memeing about the fact that the OPW spent €335,000 on a bike shelter and they could do it for a fraction of that cost. When did it become apparent internally in the OPW that this amount of money had been spent on such a simple, 18-bike stand? It works out at €18,600 per bike.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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How much was allocated for the project originally?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In theory, somebody signed off knowing that this was going to be a sizeable project, just for a bike stand.
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Okay, let us turn to the financial governance. In the context of internal controls it was highlighted that these new plans aim to cover the key controls on a rolling basis over a reasonable period. How often do the internal audit and audit risk committees meet?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Did this issue come before that committee? Has it gone before it yet?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge what Mr. Conlon said in his opening statement about new financial thresholds being put in place of between €200,000 and €500,000. My colleague spoke earlier about the security hut beside Government Buildings. I heard what the witnesses said about all of the various ancillary services it provides and about its necessity. Nobody doubts the necessity of it. Mr. Conlon alluded to the fact that it was constructed on foot of a Garda report. There are many Garda reports but they do not specify the design and I would say that the hut is a little bit more elaborate than is required. A zinc roof is not necessarily essential to accommodate all of the various services. One could have a different type or style of roof without the costs. Does Mr. Conlon appreciate that?
Mr. John Conlon:
The roof itself cost €60,000 out of the overall total of €1.4 million. It was designed and procured that way.
I should add that part of the cost of €1.4 million was to provide for a temporary shelter while the other one was being built. That is just to make that point. I know it might not be-----
2:00 pm
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Does the OPW not have a rolling contract with providers for portacabins and so on when required? It seems strange to me that that would be part of a project cost when, in fact, the OPW is doing this all the time right across the country, as Mr. Conlon said earlier. Would an existing contract not be in place so the OPW does not have additional costs on every single project, either a temporary hut or whatever is required at a given time?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It built a temporary shelter?
Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I will come back to that. I thank the Chair.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Is it true that the bin truck cannot get in with the size of the roof? Is there an impediment with it?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I ask Mr. Conlon to check that out, please.
2:05 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Deputy Murphy was looking for information on the cost of the planning permission for Hawkins House. Does Mr. Conlan have that?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Okay. I hope we will have them before the end of the meeting.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I have a number of questions. I asked about buying one of these modular homes. Are we talking about a double unit for €145,000? They come in twos. Is that price per each unit?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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They are very small. Deputy Farrell asked about the engagement the OPW had with the Department on the cost of these. Presumably it was the Department of children. When did the OPW ask the Department about the cost? Was it well in advance? The OPW was given the go ahead after that meeting as well. Who gave that go ahead?
Mr. John Conlan:
We raised it not just with the Department but with the senior officials' group overseeing this project in relation to the delivery of it. We pointed out back in June 2022 that the pilot proof-of-concept phase of the modular home programme could only be progressed if sufficient suitable sites were immediately available to the OPW. In the absence of suitable sites the programme was not viable. As the project developed we kept the Department of integration and the senior officials' group informed of the escalating cost of this project over time. It dynamically changed as we were inspecting sites and realising how much these sites for going to cost for the various reasons I have outlined already such as excavation costs, site costs, etc.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Yes, so some of these cost more than others. Were there particular ones the OPW drew attention to that were very significantly over the amount?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Will Mr. Conlan give us a note on that?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The site at Backweston is a flat piece of land, is near services and is a larger one. I presumed that kind of one would have been more viable.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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It would be useful for us to see that comparison if Mr. Conlan could provide us with the information. Clearly, the Department was more than aware of this and decided to go ahead with it at senior official level.
I move to the children's science museum. There has been quite a lot of money spent on that already given the cost of arbitration. There is a second arbitration. Is there a cost for that available to us? It was not the last time the OPW was in. There is obviously the cost of planning permissions. There were several of those, as well as designs and things like that. Is there a cumulative cost there?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I cannot for the life of me understand how the OPW was on the hook for this either. Deputy Kelly drew attention to the notion it should not have been on the hook for the modular homes either. There is no sponsoring Department, yet it is the OPW that is dealing with the arbitration. I cannot for the life of me understand how the OPW would have been advised that in 2013 in the middle of the economic crash when everything was being downsized, services were being cut right, left and centre and the troika was in town there could not have been an argument made that this was not something the State could afford. I am sure the State said it had no money, but surely the arbitration should have been proceeded with on the basis this was not something the State could viably proceed with. It should have been ended at that stage. Can Mr. Conlan give us a copy of the legal advice the OPW got? I am formally requesting that. There is that and then there is the second thing, which is going into arbitration without a business case and without the costs for fit out.
This is not like fitting out an office block where one is putting in desks and chairs. One is putting in very expensive museum pieces, which will have to be replaced from time to time, because one will need to keep the space freshened up. I am told that the fit out would be something in the region of €20 million.
2:15 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I understand that but there is no point in building a white elephant or building something for tens of millions of euro and then to discover that the people who are insisting that this be built do not have the wherewithal to put that kind of money into fitting it out. I would have thought that kind of clarity, the cost and the longevity of running it, given that this is a charity, would have been part of a business case before one would ever enter into an arbitration because there are two sides to this. How did the OPW not argue that there was an inability to proceed with this, given everything else that was happening?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Can the committee see that legal advice?
Mr. John Conlon:
I know the Leas-Chathaoirleach has requested the legal advice and we will take that request back for consideration. Normally, we do not share legal advices but I ask that she allow me to take that request back and we can revert to the committee then.
On the 2013 position, it was very much a legal position under an arbitration agreement. The arbitration did not go to the full hearing and the legal advice we received was that we were obliged to sign what was signed at that stage.
The Leas-Chathaoirleach may have noticed that it went back to arbitration in more recent years and there was a more full exposition of the business case during that process but the arbitrator kept his decision very much to the legalities of the contractual position in which we found ourselves in 2013.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Would the arbitrator have been oblivious to the economic situation the State was in? We were under supervision by the troika and every piece of spending was being monitored. Surely, that is an argument which would have been advanced. I cannot figure this out at all.
Mr. John Conlon:
To respond to the Leas-Chathaoirleach, I find this hard to explain and to understand even though I have read all of the files on this. The fact the project did not develop from that 2013 position was because of the lack of funding available to the OPW and to the State over that period. The promoters then came back in 2020 as things improved and sought further arbitration on it.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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As was outlined earlier, it is not the same thing to what it started out as being where the State was not going to cover the cost but it was going to be built as part of a development and was very much a Celtic tiger proposal. It is now double the size that it was originally intended to be. As this charity is making demands, the OPW is acceding to those demands and I cannot understand how the two, with two almost identical facilities, can be viable. I am also concerned about the location. It is mostly school bus tours which will be visiting the existing one. Where will that be accommodated? Is it in or around the National Concert Hall?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The OPW is then telling us that it is legally on the hook-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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-----because the arbitrator has more or less indicated that it has to be built and that there is planning permission. The OPW is saying it has to be built but it is also saying that it has to do a proper business case. I would have thought that would have been done before arbitration. The OPW has to do a proper value-for-money business case. It must then find a sponsoring Department. It is then competing with something that-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Does Mr. Conlon think that it should be built?
2:25 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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A lot of what we talked about earlier, and this is typical of the public accounts committee, is money that has already been spent.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We are in a rare position where some money has been spent, but the bulk of it has not. We are in that rare position where a mistake has not been made that we are back here talking about in five years' time. It does not seem that is the approach being taken here, given the legal advice, how the legal advice was followed, how the OPW is on the hook and that there is no sponsoring Department. It is not in the national development plan. There is no money committed to this by a Department or by the Government. This is daft. I will move on as I have a number of other questions.
I want to stray if Mr. Conlon does not have the responses to these. However, Deputy Kelly asked were there any other issues that should come to light. One issue concerns accommodation, which was supposed to be on Military Road, where the Garda’s Scott House is now located. That moved from Harcourt Square, which they had to vacate. Harcourt Square could accommodate more gardaí. My understanding is that there are two units of the Garda that could not be accommodated in the new facility but are being accommodated in Clyde House where the OPW was leasing a building. If Mr. Conlon does not have the information to hand, he might come back to the committee with the cost of that lease. The other thing is that when they had to vacate, they had to be accommodated somewhere. One of the units was accommodated in a building in St. Stephen's Green that had to be fitted out. They subsequently moved from that. Will he provide us with the fit-out costs?
The other issue concerns Drury Street carpark, where I understand some parking spaces were set aside or leased for the time they were in that building. Will he come back to us with the cost of those?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Mr. Conlon may be back here, but like others, I will not be back after the election. This is one I have pursued constantly. I have been told there was no extra cost for car parking. I think the reply might have been Jesuitical in that it was not associated with Scott House but it was associated with one of the other units not accommodated there and which was previously accommodated-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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That is fine. I turn to Deputy McAuliffe's point about the bike shed. Like everyone else, I echo that is something that comes up routinely. In my area it comes up in the context of wasting that amount of money on a bike shed while the ball was dropped so badly on something of such importance as Castletown House. I have raised this on the past two occasions the OPW has been in. Is it really serious about buying the land in Castletown? People are looking at freedom of information responses. The land adjacent to Castletown House is essential for access into the house and its viability. It is the finest house of its type. Its architecture is of international importance and it is successful in attracting visitors, both to the house but predominantly people who visit the land. Should it have been identified as a strategic purchase? It was turned down by the Department when it was offered for sale in 2022. I would have thought that the OPW would have gone back to the Department to state this was of strategic importance.
Was that done? Would it have been pointed out to the Department the risks, which were identified by the OPW, in not buying this land?
2:30 pm
Mr. John Conlon:
The business case that was made to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform at that stage made it quite clear that the OPW wanted to buy this property. The circumstances at that time were that it was a competitive situation with other bidders bidding as well. Unfortunately, the bid made by the OPW was not the highest bid so it went to another bidder.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I understand. I am referring to the one before that, which was in 2022. It was not on open sale at that stage and it was offered for sale to the OPW in advance of it subsequently going on the open market with a closed bid process.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The concern was that there could be a hostile owner, and essentially this is what has subsequently transpired. Looking at the history of it in terms of it being a strategic purchase, would that have changed the valuation on it?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Obviously, the OPW must look at valuations. We are acutely aware of value for money. Would the valuation have been different if it was regarded as a strategic purchase as opposed to land that was zoned for agriculture or for amenity?
Mr. John Conlon:
I will be frank. I need to be careful of what I say here. We had this discussion the last time I was here on the commercial sensitivity of our position in relation to lands there. The Leas-Chathaoirleach opened her comments with a question on whether we are serious about it. My answer is that we are. We will continue to endeavour to try to reunite that estate insofar as we can, but we are dealing in a property market where there is another owner of adjacent property that we may deal with in time. I do not know. I am very conscious that our medium- and long-term objective is to reunite the lands and get access to lands insofar as we can. There are commercial and property issues that I need to be very careful in commenting on.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I will make one final point on this. It is not clear that the OPW knows what it owns there either, in terms of another access in. Money was spent servicing the area into the farmyard. It is not clear that the OPW has done a huge amount of work in looking at alternatives. I will leave it at that. People are losing faith that the OPW is really serious about finding a solution here.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We will move on to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I apologise for arriving so late to the meeting. I was chairing the meeting of the Select Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It was unavoidable. I apologise also if I duplicate earlier questions as I was not in a position to follow the meeting.
I am aware that the issue of modular housing has been raised. I will not ask specifically about that. I was trying to get to grips with how much the actual boxes cost, or the actual units. We were given the average cost of €442,000 for delivery of each unit. In Mr. Conlon's briefing note, he said €150,000 was required for remediation of sites, provision of services and connectivity services, and things like that. In a very simplistic way, I took the €442,000 and subtracted the €150,000. I hope I am wrong because that put me at €292,000 for the actual box, the actual modular unit that I am describing. If I am right, the unit is 45 sq. m.
It is that cost I am looking to get at, that is, the average. We have a total overall cost. We are saying the sites were difficult and required a lot of money to get them ready. I want to know how much we paid for the-----
2:35 pm
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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-----modular unit.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Each modular unit cost €150,000 and is approximately 45 sq. m. That puts the average cost per square metre – I am only running the calculation now - at €3,333. Am I correct?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Mr. Conlon said that figure is for that particular size of unit.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Help me understand the difference. The total cost is €442,000 from which the OPW is saying I should subtract approximately €150,000 for remediation of site works, provision of gas and so forth. When I do that subtraction, I end up at €292,000. The OPW says the box itself costs €150,000. I have, therefore, lost €150,000.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Yes, the modular unit. Mr. Conlon told me the average cost per modular unit is €442,000.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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The average cost per unit of developing sites, including connectivity to services such as gas, water and communications, and extensive remediation works on the suboptimal sites available, is in the region of €150,000 compared to initial cost. Mr. Conlon is telling me to subtract €150,000 from the figure of €442,000 for the cost of preparing the site.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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That is in the briefing note I have been supplied with. In any case, let us say it costs more than €150,000 and is €160,000 or €170,000. I do not know. The OPW is saying it costs €442,000 in total, with €150,000 of that for site servicing. The actual modular unit, which I am pejoratively calling the box, costs €150,000. I am still missing €150,000.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Does Mr. Conlon disagree that the average cost per modular unit is €442,000?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Let me come at it another way because I am not getting a clear answer. Let us split it the other way because it is €150,000 the other way around also. It is the same amount. The total cost per unit is €442,000. The box itself, that is, the modular unit, costs €150,000. That leaves €292,000. Where is the €292,000? Mr. Conlon is not telling me it costs €292,000 per unit to prepare the site.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Hang on a second. The €442,000 is an awful figure. I am going to return to the €150,000 because the figure Mr. Conlon gave me comes out at well over €3,000 per square metre. I will come back to that. Mr. Conlon said €442,000 is the total. The actual physical modular unit is costing €150,000. That leaves a hole of €292,000 to fill. Can Mr. Conlon please outline how the taxpayer paid close to €300,000 for the provision of modular units separate from the modular unit?
Mr. John Conlon:
Significant site development costs developed over the period of this project. As I said earlier during the discussions we had in the first part of this meeting, we faced significant costs with each of those sites because they were all suboptimal sites. Most of them required huge investments in site development costs, including issues with bringing in utilities, site clearance, the presence of rocks, slopey sites, ESB connections and foul sewers. That escalated over time to a significant degree.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Mr. Conlon asked from which briefing document I am speaking. This is the document that was sent to the clerk of the Committee of Public Accounts on 7 October 2024 in preparation for this meeting.
I again quote from that document, which is not paginated, unfortunately.
2:40 pm
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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It states:
A significant level of works is required to bring the site up to standard. The average cost per unit of developing sites, including connectivity to services - gas, water and communications - and extensive remediation works on suboptimal sites available is in the region of €150,000.
I fail to grasp how I have €442,000, and if I subtract €150,000 for the actual modular unit, the difference is €292,000. This document indicates the site preparation costs €150,000, in which case I have lost €150,000 that I cannot account for.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I will move on because it does not sound like Mr. Conlon is going to give me an answer. It is entirely unsatisfactory that he said that a unit is €150,000, which is the top end figure, and I am missing €150,000 in his calculations. I will move on.
In terms of delivering value for money, Mr. Conlon said the cost is approximately €150,000 for 45 sq. m, which according to my calculator is €3,333 per sq. m. When the OPW was directing either Sisk or the five contractors that Sisk delivered these modular units through, was any outline price given in terms of cost per sq. m? One of the first considerations for anybody building a house in any part of the country, is cost per sq. m. Was there any indication in the tender documents that we wanted to deliver a certain cost per sq. m?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I had a look at HUF Haus, the German company that does really fancy, Dermot Bannon-type houses, costs €2,000 to €2,500 per sq. m. Shomera is another, although I am not necessarily comparing like for like but, including installation and construction on-site, the cost is €2,081 per sq. m. HUF Haus produces top-of-the-range units. Mr. Conlon is saying we are paying 150% per sq. m more, for 45 sq. m units for four individuals. Were there no criteria applied by the OPW in respect of cost per sq. m?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Had the OPW gone to Shomera, it would have cost €2,081 per sq. m.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I am flabbergasted by those answers. I had a number of issues to go into by way of contractors' lists but the Chair was very good to let me in when I arrived late.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We will go for a second round of five minutes each.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon's statement was very ill-informed. Most of the modular builds constructed by Shomera actually exceed the lifetime he mentioned. My question refers to the modular build. What is encompassed in the 45 sq. m, from a living perspective? Does it include toilets, bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That means there are two bedrooms at €442,000. I do not care if it is the most expensive, worst site in the history of the State. There is not a site in Dublin that has cost €289,000 as Mr. Conlon said in reply to Deputy Kelly, for groundworks. It must be remembered, the same preparation occurs for all constructed houses. It takes less time and it does not come in at that cost. If he made this known, who did he make it known to? Has he a copy of that correspondence? I am not asking for it now.
I want it submitted to the committee. I want Mr. Conlon to tell us who was made aware of it. I refer to what he told Deputy Farrell earlier.
2:45 pm
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Mr. Conlon is running down the clock. Could Mr. Conlon please submit it to the committee?
Mr. John Conlon:
Yes. We can share with the Deputy papers that were submitted to both the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the senior officials group.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That is fine. Is it correct that it includes the names of those Mr. Conlon made aware of the expected detailed cost overruns, and the non-viability of this project?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Will Mr. Conlon please submit that to the committee? Was it a similar contract to that relating to the children's hospital in that there was no actual contract other than saying "Get on with it"? Was it a base contract?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Could Mr. Conlon get the details for us?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Could he please submit them to the committee as well?
I want to move to coastal erosion. There are very serious issues in Enniscorthy, as Mr. Casey will be aware. Could he please give me the status of the flood relief scheme for Enniscorthy?
Mr. Jim Casey:
Yes. We are bringing forward Enniscorthy in two phases as a result of the refusal of the consent process in early 2022. On foot of that refusal of consent, we had to review the design of the scheme in order to bring forward a scheme for Enniscorthy that will stand a chance of securing consent. We envisage that the scheme will protect up to 326 properties. We propose to go forward in two phases. The first phase will be to mitigate flood risk by the removal of the Séamus Rafter Bridge. We are working on a planning submission for that phase, which we expect to submit for planning in October of next year.
In conjunction with that, we are looking to appoint design consultants to engage on the second phase of the scheme, to undertake the detailed design of the substantive flood relief scheme. As Deputy Murphy may be aware, the removal of the Séamus Rafter Bridge will also require a replacement bridge downstream and the construction of a pedestrian bridge over the River Slaney. That is all coming in under phase 1 and phase 2 will follow that. We also expect phase 2 to go into planning by October of next year.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank Mr. Casey.
I want to ask about the PR consultant contract in respect of which the tender was withdrawn. Was there a reason for that?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Is Mr. Conlon going to reappoint the current consultants for another year? I believe that is allowed.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Reports in the newspapers this morning indicate that Mr. Conlon was concerned about his reputation. I am sure he knows this already, but from the public's perspective and from our perspective in the context of value for money, it would be much easier to enhance his reputation if the mistakes made by the OPW are not continued. If we learn from them, Mr. Conlon will not need a PR consultant.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to return to the discussion we had earlier on the bike shelter. Ms Morrison informed the committee that there was approximately €120,000 for the adjacent EV charging project? Is that correct?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise. I wanted to make sure I got it right.
2:50 pm
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Is that for 12 sockets or 12 facilities?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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So 12 charging units.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I presume it was for the associated ground works as well.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The witnesses might forward the details of that project to us as well.
The point I was making earlier is that, at some stage, projects become unviable or no longer provide value for money. The bike shelter is in that territory. A project that was important, well meant, necessary - all those things - got to a point where it just cost so much that it was not viable. My worry is that the same kind of lack of a ceiling that existed with the bike project also exists when it comes to modular housing.
I cannot imagine how a project is presented to Cabinet without knowing the sites involved in the first instance, particularly as we know that a site is often the biggest part of a project. I do not know how an estimate was presented to Cabinet for a project when the sites were not known. That is my first point. Second, when sites were presented, they invariably involved different challenges and costs. There must have been a ceiling whereby the OPW said that a site was not viable beyond that point. Mr. Conlon informed Deputy Farrell that the senior officials groups was informed that there would be a challenge to provide these on a cost-effective basis. Earlier in the year, he informed me - I cannot remember whether it was here or at the housing committee - that this would come in roughly in the range of the market value of a traditional home. The rapid builds were coming in at around the same price, namely at a significant cost. Where is the red flag? Where is the viability ceiling? Where is the point at which or process by means of which the OPW states that no more can be spent on something because it is not viable? Is there a process in that regard?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Did the Department give the OPW an unlimited budget to do it?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The OPW was instructed by the Department to proceed.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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It might be useful, as another Deputy requested, if the witnesses could provide us with the correspondence relating to that. The difficulty is that each side will be complex. The last time I spoke about this with Mr. Conlon, I raised our experience, dating back to when Deputy Kelly was a Minister, with the rapid-build sites in Finglas and Ballymun. At the time, everybody did what everybody does with rapid builds. They took the unit cost - you can buy it off the shelf - multiply it by the number of units and stated that was what the cost would be. In reality, however, site works are a significant factor. Does Mr. Conlon accept that the figure that went to Cabinet, or the initial outline for this figure, was woefully and inadequately estimated?
Mr. John Conlon:
I fully accept that. It was a provision assessment without having regard to any sites, because none had been made available at that stage. I would also point out that a huge number of sites were rejected because of unviability. We were working with very suboptimal sites, to be frank.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Was that known from early on in the process?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Was Government informed of that?
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I imagine part of the calculation was that all of these costs we are talking about are still cheaper or more cost-effective than using hotels and other forms of temporary rented accommodation.
Mr. John Conlon:
I would prefer it if the Department of integration answered that question because we are the contracting authority. We make our knowledge of the building costs and site development costs available. The decision to proceed was not made by the OPW. The decision to proceed was made by the Department of integration.
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Perhaps that is the first question Members of the Thirty-fourth Dáil should ask.
3:00 pm
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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To follow on from what the two previous Deputies were talking about, I hear Mr. Conlon's frustration in relation to the site cost. It is clear he was very honest with the officials that this was a substandard site. It seems he was completely ignored. It seems they were willing to write a blank cheque and just get the job done even though Mr. Conlon was clear these were suboptimal sites. We now see this added €289,000 to the site costs. Does Mr. Conlon feel there was huge pressure on the OPW to get it delivered, to get on with the work and to say nothing?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Yes but we are still waiting on some of them. We are talking about an emergency situation, and I accept all of that. The point is that Mr. Conlon, to be fair, raised it with the officials and told them to hold on a second. He said these were suboptimal sites and it would be extremely hard to deliver what they wanted to deliver. They told him this was an emergency. He said the sites were suboptimal, that it would take a lot longer and cost a lot more. This is not a question for Mr. Conlon but a question for the officials. Mr. Conlon was ignored in relation to that. We now have a situation where he is front of this committee explaining modular units, which cost €442,000, that nobody can stand over.
I want to raise a few quick issues. I am unsure if the Leas-Chathaoirleach already touched on them because I came in late for other reasons. I am aware that in the instance of Miesian Plaza, the OPW overpaid rent to the tune of €10 million because it used the wrong standard and it should have used international property measurement standard 3, which was introduced in 2016, but it failed to do so. Have there been any similar incidents where there was a failure to use the correct standard, resulting in an overpayment of rent?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The OPW can assure this committee there were no more mistakes since and there have been no other instances of overpayments.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Not that Ms Morrison is aware of. Has she looked into this? I assume this something the OPW has ensured does not continue.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Morrison can assure us.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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On the building the OPW is renting in Smithfield, I have heard it is renting it for between €6 million and €8 million a year. In 2019, it was reported the OPW believed it would serve as a headquarters for two large Government organisations. Can Ms Morrison identify which Government organisations are the current occupants and when they moved in?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Is the OPW paying that rent, despite the fact it is not occupied?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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For how long has the OPW paid the rent?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The rent kicked in this year. It is between €6 million and €8 million at the moment. When does Ms Morrison expect people to move in?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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A full year's rent will have been paid at that stage.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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How much money is the OPW spending on the fitting out?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I know what Tailte Éireann is.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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How many people does the OPW expect to work in a building that costs €60 million to fit out?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I am concerned because I know at the top of my estate in Mervue in Galway, there is huge concern about the Crown Plaza site and how much money it will cost to fit that out but that is not for the OPW to discuss here today. That is an issue of concern.
With regard to the office building at Bishop's Square in Dublin 2, I understand the building has six floors. Is the OPW renting all six floors? Can Ms Morrison confirm how much the OPW has paid in rent for the building to date and to whom?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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There are seven storeys. Are they all occupied?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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It leases five and a half of them.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The five and a half storeys the OPW is using are occupied.
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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How much is the OPW paying for that?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Who is the OPW renting it from?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Morrison can send us an email, if that is okay.
3:10 pm
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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For clarity, will Ms Morrison send us the details?
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Morrison is entirely sure the OPW is not renting any floors that are idle?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I had asked about the correspondence relating to the bike shelter. I acknowledge that we are now in possession of correspondence dated 19 October 2020. I wanted to ask a couple of questions about that. There was a letter to the Ceann Comhairle, which was dated after the general election and which was signed by Deputies Bacik, Cannon, Costello, Carroll MacNeill, Leddin, Matthews, Ó Cathasaigh and Noonan and Senators Higgins, Moynihan and Ward. It related to that correspondence from 19 October and referred to previous correspondence with the commission dating back to July 2018 concerning provision of facilities for bicycles and cyclists in Leinster House. I do not want to go through all of it because it is quite long and has been published. I want to get an insight. Obviously, this letter relating to the need to build a bicycle shelter within the precincts of Leinster House came to the OPW. Did the OPW tell that group of individuals, some of whom are members of this committee, how much the project would cost? The correspondence was sent on 19 October 2020, which was pretty deep into the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This matter spans four years of complex planning and everything else that goes with doing the work that the witnesses have outlined. In that time, did the OPW fully inform the Ceann Comhairle and the commission of how expensive the project would be or was the cost hidden from the commission?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to be personal. I know Mr. Conlon is new to his post. Is he abreast of the details relating to this matter? It is a major policy crisis. Ms Collier has dealt with a lot today, to be fair to her. Mr. Conlon is the boss.
Mr. John Conlon:
I am. I wrote the review of the of the price of the bicycle shelter. That is my work. I am abreast of the matter. Ms Collier is very familiar with the history of the project, which is why I referred some questions to her. To answer the Deputy's direct question about whether the OPW made the commission aware of the cost of this project, it did not. One of the recommendations I am making in my review is that the OPW needs to be clear in making the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission aware of the cost of elective projects such as this.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The letter that Mr. Conlon provided states that before the February 2020 election, Senator Bacik and other colleagues had raised this issue on many occasions with the commission, and Senator Bacik had convened a meeting in October 2018 with both Oireachtas Members and staff who were cyclists and passed on the concerns of all those-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Is this relevant to the OPW?
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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It is, because the OPW is developing it. I want to get an insight. This is correspondence that the OPW has chosen to provide and I want to refer to it. The OPW withheld the cost from the commission. For the people who are listening in, the commission is made up of Members of all parties of all political creeds. These individuals are appointed by their respective party whips or political groupings if they are Independents. It is not a Government body; it is a stand-alone body that has responsibility. That is important to explain because the public might not be fully aware of that. Did the OPW not take the perspective that this was a very expensive development in the grounds of the national Parliament? We all know the reputational harm that has been caused because what the OPW has done has been exposed by means of freedom of information requests. This has turned into a national embarrassment. The story has gone international because it was so badly managed and handled. Did anyone take a step back and say that perhaps it was not wise to build a glass shelter for bicycles that cost the same as a detached house on the grounds of the national Parliament? That is a very fair question to ask of the OPW.
We heard questions about whether this came up at audit and risk. As regards the reputational harm the OPW has done, does Mr. Conlon feel any remorse in his role, on behalf of his organisation? I know he was not there when this decision was taken and I acknowledge that fully-----
3:15 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Deputy, your time is up.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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-----but does he feel any remorse for the harm he has caused to the reputation of the Parliament of this country?
Mr. John Conlon:
To be very clear, I fully acknowledge this, and in the review I did, which was my review, under my name, I made it very clear that the overall cost of the delivery of this project was completely unacceptable in the wider context of value for money and value for the taxpayer. I acknowledged that it is an extraordinary cost for the provision of a covered bicycle parking facility and one which the OPW seriously has to reflect on. That is there in black and white. I wrote that down-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We are moving to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I do not propose to spend much more time on the bike shelter. I want to ask about the siopa at the front of Leinster House. Anybody who does cycle to this campus - and I was one of the signatories to that letter - knows the vast preponderance of the bikes arrive in through Kildare Street, not through the Merrion side, where the bike shelter is. Is there a plan for what is going to happen to the siopa, which was another one of these white elephants?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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That is the outside of it as opposed to the inside.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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This may seem a facetious question, but I do not intend it facetiously. Did anybody look at the siopa for the provision of bike parking? When the OPW set about a project to say, "We need to build some bike parking", did anybody at any stage say, "The siopa has been chronically underutilised?" Was it factored in anywhere? No. Okay. It would-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The back of the restaurant might have been a better location.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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To me, it seems as obvious as the nose on my face, but there we go.
Another thing that is as obvious as the nose on my face is climate change and sea level rise. What sea level rise is the OPW factoring into its forward planning?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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What is the date on that, may I ask Mr. Mooney?
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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But Mr. Mooney is saying 2100. Is that the kind of timeframe within which the OPW is predicting these scenarios?
Mr. Robert Mooney:
That is not us; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that. There is a lot of uncertainty in this space. We have used a number of scenarios in order to project forward as to how the future might unfold and we take a conservative and a very precautionary approach to stuff like that.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I think most evidence would point towards around a metre by 2100. The witnesses can probably guess my next question. The last major coastal change study the OPW has done does not factor that in. Professor Peter Thorne, in a report from Caroline O'Doherty, said what we were announcing was "a plan to make a plan" in terms of dealing with coastal erosion. Our coastal erosion study does not factor in sea level rise currently.
Mr. Robert Mooney:
In terms of coastal erosion, there was a report, as the Deputy has just outlined, produced in October 2023. That report had 15 recommendations, which are being implemented at the moment. The OPW has been designated as the lead body for the technical assessment of coastal hazard.
That work is under way and is, as the Deputy has outlined, to look at what the impacts of climate change on coastal erosion are and what the predictive nature of coastal erosion will be going forward.
3:25 pm
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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The OPW is looking at Inishowen and my part of the world, Tramore.
Mr. Robert Mooney:
There is a pilot project at the moment which has been tendered for. That is a key part of kicking off that work. We have been doing a lot of work in terms of ongoing monitoring of various sites around the country. We have a national LiDAR survey under way. All of that is necessary in order to gather information which-----
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Sorry. I have a couple of questions on the contractors list in relation to a parliamentary question to which I received the answer yesterday. I refer to the contractors list and the criteria the OPW has set out where contractors are removed, including if they do not match the criteria in the application form. Reference is made to an application form including details such as insurance, Safe Pass training, tax clearance and compliance. There are no issues around that. These are not criteria whereby people are removed from contractor lists used by the OPW.
Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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May I ask finally, were any contractors removed from the contractor list due to non-compliant procurement?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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You might do that and come back to us.
I want to go back on a couple of points. I raised the issue of the two Garda units in Clyde House. Obviously, the OPW is leasing that building. I understand that the building, or part of it, was repurposed. Is it known how long that lease is for?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Have there been complaints about the quality of the building that has been leased? I understand that some personnel are housed where there is no light or natural ventilation. I would not have thought that was the kind of standard that would be acceptable.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Okay, but you might just check that out.
Does the OPW own the site beside Military Road, Walter Scott House? Do you know the site on the corner? It used to be where the compound for cars and so on was.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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If you are coming down Military Road towards St. John's Road, on the right-hand side, just beyond Walter Scott House.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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There is obviously potential for expansion there, rather than having facilities dotted all over the place. You might come back to me with that other information when you have it.
As regards the national children's science museum, going back to 2008, I understand the operating income was likely to be trading income of 50%, philanthropy of 11% and government support of 39%. Is that ratio still what is being considered? Would the museum pay rent, for example? If it gets a core building, does it have to pay the rent? Would that be part of the business case, or would there be the potential of a risk in terms of state aid if there is competition?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Yes, but it still will-----
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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May I stop you there? The operating side will not be for the OPW. My understanding is that it builds the core and then the museum does the fit-out and runs it. Is your understanding that the museum would require to fund the cost of running it, or is there intended to be a subvention from the Government on that?
3:35 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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No Department is sponsoring it. I understand that originally the Department of enterprise was the sponsor Department.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Now the OPW is talking to the Department of tourism. It is more in the higher education or education area because of the children and science aspect, but no Department has put its hand up to run this. The Department would have the responsibility rather than the OPW. The OPW is not getting instructions from any Department, so how does it make decisions about what to consider as regards how it will be run, the risks and so on?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The OPW cannot proceed without a Department sponsoring this.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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If a Department were to sponsor it, the arbitration would follow. It would have to take that on board.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Does the cost of €145,000 to €150,000 for modular homes include them being fitted out?
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Okay.
That concludes the meeting. I thank-----
Mr. Jim Casey:
May I clarify or correct an earlier response to Deputy Verona Murphy? She inquired about the phase 2 timeline on Enniscorthy. I mentioned that it was planned for October next year. That is unlikely. The next milestone for phase 2 of the project in Enniscorthy is the appointment of a design consultant by the second quarter of next year and the planning permission will come possibly two or three years after that. I do not have a precise timeline on the planning application for phase 2.
James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Casey will be aware of two tranche 2 schemes, in Rathcormac and Castlemartyr. Both have flooded on multiple occasions. I have asked this question of him before. Does he have any update on the prioritisation of those schemes, considering that they have flooded on numerous occasions? They have been in a holding pattern since 2017 and 2018. This came through the catchment-based flood risk assessment, CFRAM, programme in the OPW. We have discussed this and we need to see some progression. Both areas were heavily hit by flooding this month last year.
Mr. Jim Casey:
Both schemes are tranche 2 schemes. Unfortunately, because 100 tranche 1 schemes are being rolled out at the moment and we have a further 50 or so tranche 2 schemes, we are not in a position to bring forward the tranche 2 schemes, given all the challenges and constraints, including resources and so forth. Therefore, we do not envisage bringing forward tranche 2 schemes into tranche 1 at this time. However, we address any urgent or immediate needs in those and other tranche 2 locations through our minor works programme. The Minister recently announced funding of close to €70,000 or €80,000 for Castlemartyr - it was in that order - to bring forward urgent measures to mitigate flood risk in Castlemartyr. I understand Cork County Council is looking at Rathcormac to see what interim measures might be feasible. It may consider submitting a minor works application in the short term.
3:40 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I thank our witnesses and the staff of the OPW and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform for their work in preparing for today's meeting. I also thank the Comptroller and Auditor General and his staff for attending and assisting the committee.
Is it agreed that the clerk will seek any follow-up information and carry out any agreed actions arising from the meeting? Agreed. Is it also agreed that we note and publish the opening statement and briefing provided for today's meeting? Agreed.