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

There is a terrific view of Cork city from the fort, but no one was able to access the ramparts in recent years. That was crazy and I, therefore, took the decision in the light of the excellent work it did to hand over the site to Cork City Council in order that it might make a go of it. The OPW no longer has sufficient staff to allow it to operate all of these sites throughout the country. We must consider innovative approaches. In that context, I have an open mind when it comes to allowing private sector companies as external service providers to run heritage sites. If the State does not have the money to run these sites and good protocols are put in place, there is no reason such companies cannot become involved. We will re-examine the position on the site at Tara. I discussed this matter with colleagues some years ago and I am sorry that progress has not been made.

The OPW does not have any vacant leased property on its books. That is largely because we are getting out of this sector and trying to ensure the public buildings we do own will be utilised in a much better way. A completely new attitude will be required in this regard. We have already got rid of 48 State agencies and there are a further 15 to go. The remaining agencies do not all need their own buildings. We must be much more creative in how we use space. As I demonstrated, there are major savings to be made by withdrawing from the property sector. As far as I am concerned, we will not be taking out long-term leases in the future, rather we will use our existing space in a different and better way.