Results 9,521-9,540 of 9,814 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services (19 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: 273. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the withdrawal of a senior post (details supplied); if he is concerned about the potential knock-on impact of this in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37094/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Mr. Conlan is very welcome and I congratulate him on his appointment last April. I thank him and his staff for attending. The OPW does some very fine work in this country, throughout all of our counties, constituencies and not least in this fine building we find ourselves sitting in. I also acknowledge the tremendous assistance Mr. Ciarán O'Connor has been to us on the Joint...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: I want to acknowledge the very fine work done by the OPW and its very good history. I want to start with the bike shelter. Did it require planning permission?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Did the OPW consider alternatives that may have been exempt from planning that might have been of a lesser size or intrusion on the building?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: When planning permission is sought on a protected structure a declaration can be sought to see if it is exempt from planning permission and seek a section 57 conservation officer report to say whether a project would materially impact or affect the building. Was that done with DCC?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: So the OPW decided the conservation aspect itself rather than the planning authority.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: On the location of the shelter, and we have spoken at length about the granite paving, for example, 90% of the parking area is tarmacked. Why was a decision made that where the bikes are parked had to be granite and could not be just tarmac?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Consistent with the building next door.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: On the location of the structure, according to the costs the cost of the bike shelter and the manufacture, supply and install comes to €121,000. So it is all the extra works around the shelter that have trebled the price. On locating the shelter quite far from where power was available, why not go to the other side of the buildings where there are EV charging points to pick up on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Were the people who were making that decision aware that this project was going to incur all these extra costs due to being quite far from power, the difficulties in try to connect to drainage over there and the granite paving? Had it gone to where the EV charging points were located, the OPW would not have had to try to marry the paving up with the building next door. If somebody were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: In those discussions, did the OPW say, "If we put it here where the EV charging points are, we will actually reduce costs by this amount?" Was that part of the conversation or was it just aesthetically this is where we are going to put it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: We find it very difficult to understand as well. What else of substantial value has the OPW constructed within Leinster House or the Department of Finance area, here on Merrion Street or Kildare Street, in the last 12 months or so?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Yes, please. I refer to projects of significant cost.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: There is a security shelter beside the Department of Finance buildings. Was that an OPW project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: Was it an OPW project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: That is quite a significant high-cost project, I believe.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: I was talking about-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: -----Kildare Street, Merrion Street and the compound of buildings.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: It is a very attractive security hut with a sweeping copper-clad roof. It looks very well. What was the cost of the project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Office of Public Works (25 Sep 2024)

Steven Matthews: I am quite tight on time and I want to find out the cost of the project.