Mr. John Conlon:

I thank the committee for its invitation to attend this afternoon. It is my first opportunity to address the committee since my appointment as Chairman in April. I am joined by colleagues from the management board of the Office of Public Works.

I will start by addressing the bicycle shelter at Leinster House. This has been the source of considerable concern for the political system and the general public. I very much welcome the opportunity to explain, in person, to you, the circumstances around the construction of this project. First, I understand the anger and frustration of both elected representatives and the public. I want to make clear that I am taking immediate steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

As Accounting Officer for the OPW I acknowledge that, while the costs for this project can be explained, the overall cost of delivering this bicycle shelter is not acceptable in the wider context of value for money and value for the taxpayer. It is an extraordinary cost for the provision of a bicycle shelter and one which the OPW must reflect on. I have set out in the review that the project was delivered on foot of a specific request from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to provide covered bicycle parking on the Merrion Square side of Leinster House. The design of the facility was conservation-led, with the main focus of being to provide a solution that met the client needs.

I am taking immediate measures to ensure that, in future, the value for money aspect of projects of this scale is more front and centre in our processes. I have revised downwards the project approval thresholds that currently apply and I am also putting in place new governance measures to ensure that management board members oversee and approve all works above €200,000. This essential step will provide me with the assurance as Accounting Officer that public funds entrusted to the OPW are being spent effectively.

In future, the OPW will ensure that the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is fully informed of costs for all elective projects in Leinster House. This will ensure the decision-making process is more robust. To ensure that the OPW can build on the lessons learned from this project, I have engaged an external auditor to provide advice to me on additional measures that I should take to ensure that the value for money objective is given due weight throughout the whole project appraisal process for projects below €500,000 and this work will include an audit of this project.

In conclusion on this issue, as Accounting Officer I want to acknowledge that it was a failure on the part of the OPW not to inform the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission of the cost of the project.

As Accounting Officer, I am here to take responsibility today.

I will now address the other matters that the committee wishes to consider. The OPW is leading a proactive, whole-of-government approach to managing flood risk across three areas covering prevention, protection and preparedness. The Government has committed €1.3 billion over the lifetime of the national development plan to protect approximately 23,000 homes and businesses in communities under threat from river and coastal flood risk. Nationally, 55 schemes have been completed at a cost of €550 million, which are providing protection to more than 13,000 properties and an economic benefit to the State in damages and losses avoided estimated at €2 billion. The OPW recently gave approval for the construction of the King’s Island flood relief scheme in County Limerick. This, when completed, will protect 528 homes and businesses. The scheme at Crossmolina, County Mayo, recently received confirmation to progress. The OPW now plans to construct this scheme. When completed, this will protect 116 homes and businesses. A substantial body of work has been undertaken in the past few months on progressing interim flood measures at both Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon and Midleton in County Cork, following the recent severe flooding at both locations. With regard to coastal erosion, the OPW is the national lead body for the assessment of coastal change and risks and the assessment of technical constraints.

The OPW was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála on 28 March 2024 for the development of a national children's science centre at a site adjacent to the National Concert Hall in Earlsfort Terrace. The conditions of this planning are being reviewed by the OPW. The project is the subject of ongoing arbitration between the National Children’s Science Centre and the Commissioners of Public Works. The arbitrator issued an interim decision on 25 June 2022 and found in favour of the applicant, the Irish Children’s Science Centre. This has reinforced a legally binding commitment on the OPW to construct the centre in accordance with the planning permission granted. The next step in the arbitration process is the arbitrator will reconvene the parties to the case now that planning permission has been secured and will issue further direction regarding specific performance of the contract. No provision for the development of this project was made in the NDP due to the ongoing arbitration process and uncertainty about the timing of this project. While there is a legally binding contract, the OPW and I are conscious of the concerns raised by Deputies that this project should be subject to robust value for money analysis before Exchequer funding can be committed to the development of the project. The issue of funding for the project will be considered by the OPW and the relevant funding Department in due course. I thank the Chairman and the committee members for their time and welcome their questions.