Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the latter issue, the Deputy is correct. There is a good deal of controversy locally surrounding the library. Often I describe the Department as the classic shared service facility across government. The Deputy is correct in saying the OPW does not get the praise it deserves. I suspect this is because it is not represented around the Cabinet table. In this key piece of work, a key part of the labour activation measures to establish 53 or 54 Intreo offices by the end of the year, we have been doing a lot of work for the Department of Social Protection in ensuring we will have these new spaces with modern offices to help people in the provision of social protection and dealing with labour activation issues.

The case to which the Deputy refers in Balbriggan has been brought to my attention. I have spoken to Deputies Ryan and Farrell, as well as the Minister for Health, about the issue, and we are working to find a solution. We have also been in touch with Fingal County Council and I think we have an alternative site which will allow the library to remain in place. This is important for people to hear. It is an old Carnegie library to which they are attached and we are looking to see whether we can resolve the issue with the local authority by finding an alternative site. I think we can do this, while keeping to the programme and ensuring Balbriggan will have its new Intreo office. I congratulate colleagues on the project management side on the work done in the provision of Intreo offices. We stated we would have 42 open by 31 December last year and we accomplished this. Great credit is due to the team within the OPW for doing that piece of work.

On the consultancy side, my understanding is the total sum last year was €13,315 for two pieces of work - one was the provision of internal audit services within the organisation, while the other was in respect of ISO architectural services. They cost approximately €5,000 and €7,000, respectively. Consultancy services that are of a professional or technical nature form an integral part of an infrastructural scheme works programme or project on the construction side. Out of the total budget last year, €13,000 was the spend on consultancy services.