Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 27 November 2025

Public Accounts Committee

Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts 2024
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2024
Chapter 5 - Development of a Proposed National Science Centre
Chapter 6 - The OPW's Management of Office Accommodation

2:00 am

Photo of Séamus McGrathSéamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank everyone from the OPW for being with us here this morning and for sending on documents in advance of the meeting. Obviously, my time is limited so I will get straight to it. From the outset, I want to go to the national science centre project and the relationship with the Irish Children's Museum Company Limited. I am not going to go back over the whole project. We know it goes back to 2003 at the time of the Heuston Gate site and proposal. Obviously, there were issues there around governance, the lack of due procedure and the fact that the advice of the Chief State Solicitor's Office in relation to a clause was not agreed to. I suspect no one here today was involved in any of that back 22 years ago. Equally, the approval of the Minister of Finance was not sought despite it being recommended and so on. Obviously, arbitration was opened up in 2013 and, as a result of that, there was an agreement to provide a space at the Earlsfort estate which is still occupied by the museum charity. Is that correct?

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