Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said to the Deputy, on the previous occasion when we discussed this matter, I did not, nor does the Office of Public Works, disagree with her. We agree, in fact, but there are circumstances where we will have urgent needs. For example, if a tribunal is to be established and there is a requirement in the here and now for office accommodation, the OPW will not have the benefit of going through a rigorous planning process, dealing with all objections, judicial reviews, public procurement, the public spending code etc. because the tribunal will need to get up and running. There are occasions when we actually need to move.

The Deputy is correct in that the Office of Public Works accommodation portfolio is 60% to 40%, owned versus leased, which is quite different from the position in 1998. At the end of 1998, for instance, the OPW’s office accommodation portfolio comprised 960,000 sq. m, 56% of which was owned and 44% of which was leased. While this estate is 7.5% smaller now than it was in 1998, the number of people we are accommodating is 40,000 greater, which is an increase of 27%. On pound for pound delivery, I think the Deputy will find the OPW is actually doing quite a good job in this field for the Government.

See this speech in context