Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 25 October 2018

Public Accounts Committee

Business of Committee

9:00 am

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Some of these are from 2002 and 2009. Obviously the 2002 properties are a legal obligation and the 2009 ones are a moral obligation. Given the particular sector in question, I would have thought the moral obligation would have been almost on a par with the legal obligation, but so be it. We have all said this kind of stuff before.

I want to find out about one or two practical things. The HSE and the Department of Education and Skills are pursuing the matter with different organisations because some of the facilities are being used, for example No. 15, the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. There is work being pursued on one of them. I am talking about No. 15. This offer comprises the lease of land for the operation of the National Rehabilitation Hospital and the transfer of a 33 acre site. It is stated that this transfer will facilitate the redevelopment of the hospital.

That project is under way.

The final paragraph states that work on this complex transfer is progressing but is taking longer than expected. The estimated timeframe for completion is the third quarter of 2019. Is the lack of clear title and spending of public money on a development delaying that? Is there duplication going on between the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE? How is that working in practice? It costs money to follow this up. Is the lack of clear title causing a problem? Since the HSE has an involvement, perhaps we should ask it about that and about how it relates to the Department of Education and Skills. A few relate to the HSE, not just that one.