Mr. John Conlon:

I thank the committee for the invitation to discuss the 2024 appropriation account on the relevant chapters in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. I thank the Comptroller and Auditor General and his office for their work in auditing the appropriation account, in addition to their work on the two chapters, which contain valuable insights and learnings for us. I am joined today by members of the OPW management board, who have responsibility for areas across the wide-ranging remit of the OPW.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has outlined the main areas of expenditure in our Vote. I will briefly comment on some of the notable examples of delivery across the OPW programmes. Our purpose is to protect communities from flood risk, manage the State's property portfolio, and safeguard, promote and maintain our natural and built heritage. The OPW has a multidisciplinary workforce of approximately 2,500 staff dispersed across some 140 sites. We employ staff across diverse roles such as engineers, general operatives, carpenters, horticulturalists, architects and quantity surveyors, as well as a wide range of roles across the general administrative grades. In the course of their varied work, our staff live our values of expertise, respect, excellence, collaboration and sustainability.

We lead Ireland's flood risk management and have delivered 56 major flood schemes, providing protection to almost 14,000 homes and businesses and an economic benefit to the State, with damage avoided estimated at around €2 billion. Major flood relief schemes are complex, multi-stage projects that rely on extensive surveys, environmental assessments and detailed design work to understand flood risks and develop effective solutions. Improving efficiency and timelines for delivery is our key priority, in line with the goals of the Department of public expenditure's accelerating infrastructure taskforce.

There are more than 100 schemes at various stages of implementation, with a capital allocation of €715 million over the period to 2030. We spent over €131 million on the flood risk management programme in 2024. Our teams work from depots across the country to deliver on flood relief projects, with five more flood relief schemes reaching construction or implementation in 2024. This brings the total number of flood relief schemes currently at construction to 11, in Athlone, Crossmolina, Glashaboy, King’s Island, the Morell river, Morrison's Island, the Poddle, the River Wad, Springfield, Templemore and Whitechurch. Upon completion, these schemes will collectively protect a further 2,900 properties. The estate management expenditure during 2024 was €563 million. At year-end, our portfolio included 531 buildings, 266 of which were State-owned, covering a floor area of 866,000 sq. m, with some 60% of total floor area being State-owned.

As a result of this expenditure in 2024, substantial progress was made on a number of key building projects, including the Rosslare Europort project, the Government data centre in Backweston and the construction of a new office block at Leeson Lane, Dublin 2 to provide flexible, purpose-built, value-for-money, energy-efficient and space-efficient accommodation for up to 360 staff. We also handed over Tom Johnson House, an exemplar deep refurbishment project financed by the national recovery and resilience plan in support of our climate action obligations, in 2024. This is occupied by the Department of climate and energy.

The OPW provides a service for statutory maintenance contracts and building fabric in more than 2,200 properties. In 2024, a total of €83 million was spent on the provision of maintenance in buildings occupied by Government Departments and certain State agencies. We maintain and operate 780 important national monument properties across the country, with 32 historic properties, balancing the protection of heritage assets with increased, more interactive and inclusive access for visitors. In 2024, our heritage sites performed well, with just over 14 million visitors. That good performance is continuing into this year.

Significant projects delivered in 2024 included Rockfleet Castle in County Mayo, the seminar room at the National Library and ongoing restoration works at the Four Courts. During 2024, heritage sites across the country participated in many local and national festivals, including National Heritage Week, Seachtain na Gaeilge, the Five Lamps Festival and the Discover Derrynane festival. These make a major contribution to local economies.

The proposal to develop a national children's science centre dates to the early 2000s, as the Comptroller and Auditor General said, on foot of a then programme for Government commitment, with sponsorship and financial support for the project driven through the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with financial support also provided by the then Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. The role of the Office of Public Works was that of a contracting authority to design and oversee the construction of a facility to be located at the Heuston Gate development. Our role in this respect was similar to an undertaking of capital projects as a contracting authority for client bodies, whereby funding issues from the relevant Votes for these client bodies. As Chairman of the OPW, I have met and advised representatives of the children's science centre company. While I fully accept that there is a binding arbitration award on the OPW, on behalf of the State, the fact remains that there is no sponsoring authority to fund the development of the project. The Vote for the OPW provides capital allocations for flood risk management and OPW estate management, and does not provide capital funding for projects outside of these defined expenditure programmes. The OPW, as a contracting authority in this case, does not provide funding for the capital works development for the science centre project.

In addition to identifying a sponsoring authority, in line with the infrastructure guidelines, the issue of the source and quantum of ongoing operational funding required for the science centre requires examination and evaluation by a sponsoring Department. I share the key learnings identified in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, namely that the roles and responsibilities of project sponsor and contracting authority should have been clearly defined from the outset. More robust project governance, with a clearly identified project sponsor, would have provided safeguards in respect of the other clear learnings from this project and around the scope of this project, in addition to the appropriate oversight of costs.

The OPW estate portfolio generates an immense amount of property-related data that informs the management of the estate. A number of data anomalies were noted in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on our estate management and a project is already under way to correct this and to validate existing information in our property database. There have been no financial implications for the State associated with these data anomalies. On foot of the audit's recommendations, the OPW is now also formally documenting decision-making in relation to lease breaks in rental properties, and energy rating standard exemptions in our buildings. This work forms part of a wider programme to continuously improve how we manage our property portfolio transparently. The timescale for the delivery of office accommodation construction projects and fit-out costs is dependent on several variables. Purpose-built new accommodation can take up to five years, subject to the scale and complexity of the project. The acquisition and fit-out of new premises such as a lease can typically take up to three years.

Facilitating multiple clients in appropriate leased buildings in a challenging environment results in delays achieving full occupation. For instance, the Distillers Building and Bishop’s Square projects highlighted in the report were both impacted by the pandemic and supply chain disruption, as well as factors including expansion of the base build by the landlord, and change of ownership during the project. However, these projects have allowed the OPW to exit multiple costly leases in older, poor-quality premises to consolidate staff in modern energy-efficient buildings. The Distillers Building is now being occupied and will shortly be fully occupied.

We continue to review and improve our governance processes. For example, new guidance on capital works projects with an estimated value of less than €500,000 was implemented earlier this year. I would like to reiterate our ongoing commitment to deliver on the Government's commitments, on a value for money basis, under the next phase of the national development plan. This delivery is enabled by the hard work and commitment of our staff, who I would like to acknowledge as consistently delivering across our broad remit of responsibility. Every day, they serve both the State and communities nationwide through the provision of vital flood protection measures and the management of our extensive property portfolio.

During 2024, our teams managed multiple capital projects, including the recently completed €230 million Rosslare Europort terminal, which was delivered on time and on budget. This was one of the biggest capital infrastructure projects of its kind delivered in Ireland. Our heritage team combines conservation expertise with the delivery of excellent visitor experiences. Their work preserves and presents Ireland’s built and natural heritage, enabling regional tourism to improve. These multidisciplinary teams, which operate across the OPW, are united by their professionalism, dedication and strong sense of purpose, which I would like to acknowledge and thank them for.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and committee members. I welcome their questions. I might ask some of my managerial colleagues to assist with answers where such answers will help the discussion.