Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)

I understand where the Deputy is coming from, but as I said, we always look to buy these buildings if they come up as deals and it is possible to buy them, and we always will, but it is all about capital at the end of the day and whether it is available at the time. This is also about getting the building. When we talk about the project the Deputy mentioned, four different Departments will go into that building. There is a saving to the State here in one sense. Those Departments will also leave other buildings, which we will bring up to standard in future. If we could go into a place where we could buy the property, we would, but those properties are not available and do not come onto the market. I agree with the Deputy that most of the buildings we need for the operation of Leinster House and the courts, for example, all have a huge cost in rent. If we try to buy them, which we would in cases where the capital was available, the zeros increase after the price once the OPW's name gets associated with anything.

Regarding the building and project the Deputy is talking about, I went through this in detail and I am quite satisfied that what the OPW entered into at the time was good business in terms of occupancy by four Departments.