Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All I have are three blank walls and one with a window.

In the context of the objectives for 2015, will the Minister of State outline the position on the 14 schools building projects - referred to in subhead B6 - the OPW will be managing? Why is it involved in this regard? I thought most of the PPPs relating to these projects would involve the Department of Education and Skills or individual school boards of management.

Will the Minister of State expand on the position on the OPW's delivery of Government initiatives in terms of commemoration projects? There is only a 1% increase in this regard. There is a very big centenary coming up next year, namely, that of the 1916 Rising. I would have liked to have seen a significant increase in the Estimate for 2015 in preparation for next year's events. An increase of 1% in the entire subhead for heritage services does not give the impression that sufficient planning is taking place in the commemoration of the 1916 Rising. Perhaps the Minister of State might outline the position in greater detail.

Will the Minister of State provide a rundown of the Intreo public offices managed by the OPW? This is a relatively new project and remains a work in progress.

The next issue to which I wish to refer relates to the old decentralisation programme and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's offices in Portlaoise. This matter has been discussed by the joint committee and I tabled a number of parliamentary questions on it. Essentially, the Minister of State confirmed in reply to one of these parliamentary questions that sanction had been given for an extension to the offices in Portlaoise. There are 11 offices leased in the town and the Minister of State provided information on all of them. Having already sanctioned the extension, it appears the OPW is now going to conduct a space audit in the coming months. Does the sanction still obtain or will it have to be amended in the light of the results of the space audit? Why was sanction given, particularly as the OPW is now obliged to engage in such an audit? If the Minister of State does not have the relevant information to hand, he can forward it to me.

My final point is on subhead B10 - unitary payments. The OPW is managing the National Convention Centre in Dublin on behalf of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport by way of a public private partnership. It is indicated that the costs to be borne by the State will be met by means of single unitary payments from the OPW Vote over a 25-year period which commenced in mid-2010 and that the final capital payment will be made in 2015. The briefing note we have received indicates that for the period 2012 to 2015, inclusive, capital payments amounted to €75 million. The total is probably even greater, particularly if earlier payments were made. The capital payments on the National Convention Centre are running at approximately €30 million per year. Over a period of 25 years, this amounts to €750 million. Therefore, the total involved will be over €800 million. What was the total cost involved during the lifetime of the PPP for the National Convention Centre? I do not know whether the unitary payments are due to taper off over time or whether they will increase. Will the Minister of State indicate what will be the full cost of the PPP for the entire period?