Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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When it comes to the public spending code, I am just trying to see whether there are blockages to successful delivery. There is a practical example in my constituency. The OPW negotiated a deal for the purchase of land at Castletown House in 2021. It told us that the cost would be somewhere in the region of €5 million. Essentially, there was either a blockage in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform or that Department stopped the sale. The land was strategically important because of vehicular access. The land was subsequently sold on the open market in a closed bidding process and bought by a new landowner. He has very different ideas about the historically important land associated with Castletown House, which attracts 1 million visitors per year. The new owner is reported to have said that if the land is to go up for sale – he is not offering it – the figure involved would be multiples of €5 million. I am just using this as an example. Are there projects that have not happened as a consequence of a very protracted process similar to the one I have mentioned?