Results 7,941-7,960 of 20,068 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Given the length of time and inflation-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: However, there are new works because of the redesign.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Mr. Casey might come back to me with an update and a briefing note on that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: We had a conversation about buying and renting offices. The site at Mountrath Road, Portlaoise was bought for €1 million. It started off in the 2000s, we are now going into the third decade and we are still within the same situation where the best part of €1 million a year is being spent on renting offices in various places. Some of them are over pubs and in different...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Of course, it needs it. It is renting places such as Grattan House opposite Portlaoise Prison and Kilminchy.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: That was the argument for locating Departments there. As a public representative for the area and as Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, I am looking at this site that I drive past twice a day coming here and going home on the orbital route and there it is lying empty with bushes growing up around it. Meanwhile we are paying nearly €1 million a year renting various office...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: For temporary location.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: I understand that, but you said it would not be a good use of money to press a button to spend money automatically, whereas we have spent money over the years on renting and leasing. It is not satisfactory that a site could be bought and just left standing there with no use made of it in the intervening nearly 20 years now. Can Mr. Buckley see where I am coming from?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: This comes up at local level regularly. I ask the OPW to come back with some definite information. As for that site, the OPW would want to use it or lose it. It will have to do something. It is not satisfactory that it is just left there vacant like that. I ask that the OPW come back within the next couple of weeks with a report on what exactly is happening with the site and whether it...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Could the OPW come back to the committee with a full answer on that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Thank you, Mr. Buckley. I thank the committee and the staff of the OPW and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the work involved in today's meeting. I also thank the Comptroller and Auditor General and his staff for attending and assisting. Is it agreed that the clerk seek any follow-up information and that we carry out any actions arising from the meeting? Agreed. I...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: I am conscious of that and I acknowledge the work of the OPW.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: I suppose there is the fact of the wide brief and the amount of property involved. The Deputies reflect the public. We are elected by our peers. The public place huge value on some of the sites we mentioned, not only heritage sites but also public offices and so on. We are lucky in this State that we have an OPW that looks after all these facilities for us. On top of that, now it is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: And value for money. I know that giving the OPW that framework is a new departure. We did not just write down eight questions on a sheet of paper. Value for money is a hard thing to nail down. We went through a process of doing that. We had some external advice as well. I want the OPW to come back to the committee using that template of eight questions. I know it is new.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: And tell us why the OPW selected them.

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 8 - Contract payments in respect of Convention Centre Dublin (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: You see the questions. That is great. I thank the witnesses for their work. I wish their staff a happy Christmas. We will agree to note and publish the statements from today and to follow up. We look forward to the OPW coming back with that information. I will now suspend this meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts until 1.45 p.m. We have important business to attend to in the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: The business this afternoon is minutes, accounts statements, correspondence, work programme and any other business. We will then go briefly into private session before adjourning until 19 January. The minutes of meetings on 1 December and 8 December have been circulated. Do any members wish to raise matters? Are the minutes agreed? Agreed. They will as usual be published on the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Do any members wish to speak on those?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is the list of accounts and financial statements agreed? Agreed. The accounts and statements will be published as part of our minutes. We will move on to correspondence. As previously agreed, items that are not items of discussion for this meeting will continue to be dealt with in accordance with the proposed actions that have been circulated and decisions taken by the committee on the...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (15 Dec 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is No. 1582 regarding landfills.