Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to argue in any way against the proposal but for the benefit of new Deputies and Senators, there is usually resistance from the relevant Department when we stray into the responsibility of another committee. We had a problem previously when we sought to raise issues that were dealt with by another Department. We were told we could not raise them because they were the responsibility of other committees. I have no difficulty with the committee seeking to raise the issue Deputy O'Donoghue outlined but he might want to try to find a way of raising it with the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure Reform, and Taoiseach as the OPW falls under the finance remit. I suspect the OPW will say the matter is not the function of this committee. I am, however, fully supportive of Deputy O'Donoghue's proposition.