Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 23 November 2023

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Supplementary)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Supplementary)

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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No, it is for the whole building. However, because we share the building, it has to be done on a floor basis. The Department is reliant on a shared heating system for the Government Buildings complex which is managed by the Houses of the Oireachtas. The current system uses a mix of gas and zero-emissions wood pellets. Heating costs are apportioned by floor area within the Government Buildings complex. At present the Department's energy use is effectively merged in with that of a number of other public bodies in the complex with no sub-metering of actual usage by individual Departments and operations. The energy costs are estimated for the coming year taking into account the previous expenditure.