Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach, and I am pleased to before the committee again to present the 2023 Revised Estimates for the OPW. The gross allocation for 2023 is just shy of €617 million, which comprises €126 million for flood risk management and €491 million to be invested in estate management.

The structure of the OPW Vote remains unchanged. However, in line with the Government’s infrastructure investment of €165 billion under the National Development Plan, NDP, 2021–2030,the OPW Vote has seen a 30% increase in its capital allocation. The funding will contribute towards the ambitious plan for a greener, more efficient, connected Ireland – part of our climate goal to cut emissions by 50% by 2030.

As the OPW funding allocations, projects and scope of work continue to expand, the two main strategic programmes, flood risk management and estate management, have grown in tandem. The recognition of the threat of climate change has been underlined by events such as COP27. While the State needs to introduce measures to decarbonise, it also needs to introduce measures to prepare and adapt to the impacts of climate change. As I have highlighted regularly, Ireland is an island and the sea around us is one of our greatest risks. Under its flood risk management brief, the OPW continues to co-ordinate Ireland’s whole-of-government approach to managing flood risk from rivers and the sea, the primary source of Ireland’s flood risk. The OPW's core objective is to reduce, to the greatest extent possible, the impact of flooding on families and businesses, especially in those communities known to be at significant risk from flooding. I have seen the damage and distress flooding can cause first-hand.

The flood risk management plans launched in May 2018 provide evidence to support the Government’s investment in flood risk management over the lifetime of the NDP. This investment supports the progression of 150 schemes. As members will be aware, delivering flood relief is complicated, involving many distinct stages, including but not exclusively: to understand the source and extent of flooding; to identify the preferred option to protect the risk areas; to secure the relevant consents and planning permissions; and to construct the schemes through private land. Throughout all of the stages, public consultation and detailed assessments of the environmental impacts are key to informing the design of a scheme for a community. The prioritisation of schemes means that work is under way to protect 80% of properties at risk, with proposed solutions for the other 20%.

Since 2018, the OPW has been able to treble to 90 the number of schemes at design and construction stage. Flood risk projects require expertise and input from engineers in the area of hydrology. As we progress with future schemes, the OPW will continue to make the most efficient use of all available resources and specialist personnel.

One of the principal factors affecting flood risk management in Ireland is climate change. In designing and building all of our schemes, provision is made to ensure that we can meet the risk posed by climate change. The OPW's assessment of that risk is fully supported by the evidence of the International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. Schemes to be completed in 2023 include Athlone, Templemore, Springfield, and the second phase of the River Dodder. These schemes will provide protection to more than 1,500 properties.

Outside of these major schemes, local authorities can, and do, address local flooding issues through funding from the OPW’s minor floods mitigation works and coastal protection scheme. This provides 90% of the funding required by local authorities, and since 2009, this has protected 7,400 properties. In addition to the major and minor flood relief schemes, the allocation of €126 million to flood risk management in 2023 will allow the OPW to maintain 11,500 km of channels and 800 km of embankments as part of our statutory maintenance duty. This maintenance provides drainage outfall to some 650,000 acres of agricultural land and a level of protection from flooding to urban areas and critical infrastructure, including more than 20,000 properties.

The second major OPW programme is estate management, and this continues to fund the design, upkeep and modernisation of a significant number of properties within the State’s property portfolio. This includes heritage sites, Civil Service office accommodation for all Departments, An Garda Síochána and many State agencies. In all, the OPW manages in excess of 2,500 properties on behalf of the State, which includes some of Ireland’s most significant heritage properties, monuments, gardens and arboreta, including Leinster House, Sceilg Mhichíl and other office buildings. The management role includes the curation and presentation of 30 major historical properties and 700 monuments, as well as the State art collection, artefacts, plants and trees. This is work that makes a significant contribution to the health and well-being of the public, providing inviting green spaces and walkways for the public to enjoy and benefit from.

In 2023, OPW sites will play a key role in the resurgence of our tourism economy, which are particularly important assets for our rural areas. With the recent opening of Annes Grove in north Cork, investments in Doneraile, County Cork, Emo Court, County Laois and the newly-refurbished visitors' centres at the Blasket Centre in County Kerry and Céide Fields in County Mayo, the OPW continues to invest in the visitor experience and the conservation and enhancement of these unique places.

In the context of office accommodation, the OPW is charged with designing the workplace of the future for the Civil Service. It aims to deliver accommodation that facilitates more agile ways of working to meet our future needs. The OPW is actively engaging with our clients in the context of their operational requirements and their long-term blended working policies to ensure that they have right-sized accommodation that continues to provide value for money for the Exchequer. In 2023, the OPW will substantially complete Tom Johnson House at Beggar's Bush. The project, which is largely funded by the EU under the national recovery and resilience plan, when completed, will provide an exemplar of how an existing obsolete building can be transformed into a highly modern, efficient and agile workplace. It will provide a long-term headquarters for the Department of the Environment, Climate Action and Communications, and this development will enable the release of an expensive leasehold in due course.

Members will be aware that as a consequence of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Ireland, along with our EU colleagues, has welcomed thousands of displaced Ukrainians to our shores. The OPW is assisting the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on an agency basis by piloting a project to deliver 700 modular houses that will accommodate up to 2,800 people on sites throughout the country.

Similar to the Brexit infrastructure projects, the Ukraine modular homes project represents another unique example of the OPW assisting an all-of-government response to an unexpected event or crisis.

A gross sum of €490 million has been provided for estate management within the 2023 Revised Estimate. Of this, €60.5 million has been allocated as part of the EU national recovery and resilience plan. This funding was made available to Ireland to contribute to climate action projects. This will ensure the OPW is well positioned to continue to contribute towards Europe’s climate and energy objectives and support the recovery of the tourism sector and the wider economy. Protecting the environment is at the heart of everything that the OPW does in all aspects of our work, whether that is the maintenance of our national heritage sites or arterial drainage works.

I have only referred to a small section of the work the OPW does. It goes without saying that the scale and complexity of our responsibilities in the delivery of our two infrastructural programmes have a considerable impact nationwide, and are dependent on the expertise and commitment of our staff. The nature of the work of the Office of Public Works requires the input of a dedicated team of professional, technical and administrative staff, working in a multidisciplinary team, across a wide range of property management, heritage conservation and engineering functions, and others. The roles cover professional managers, valuers, architects, engineers, mechanical and electrical specialists, surveyors, planners, financial advisers, property economists, and project managers, to name but a few, and are supplemented by other specialists as we require them. These staff play a vital role, and as Minister of State I want to thank them. I can say with confidence that the Office of Public Works is ready to deliver key programmes for the Government as outlined in 2022. I would be happy to take questions from the Vice Chairman and members.