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

If the Deputy has information in this regard, he should give it to me and we will examine it. Talk is cheap in our system and I have heard all types of story. By centralising the system, we can extract substantial savings and ensure funding is prioritised in accordance with the allocation we receive. We are spending €19.5 million this year on maintenance, which includes Garda stations.

On the capital side, there is an impression that the decision on which Garda stations are rebuilt, extended and so on is a matter for the OPW. In fact, that list comes from the Garda Commissioner and is drawn up by his property and maintenance people. They prioritise what they want to do; we allow them to make the decisions and then do the work for them. We do not have a huge cohort of staff involved in this work. We have contractor lists and a lot of the money is spent in the real economy. Many of the jobs involved are small. Contractors on the list tender for work and we cannot just pick and choose the winners. Where there is a piece of work that is any way substantial in nature, we want people to tender for it. If there is a specific case the Deputy would like to bring to my attention, I will be happy to look into it.