Results 221-240 of 1,037,958 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:Peadar Tóibín)

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

Peadar Tóibín: Does Mr. Conlon think it is a good idea to put tendering at arms' length in the future with regard to these costs?

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

Peadar Tóibín: How do we know it is done competitively if we are not doing it?

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

Peadar Tóibín: Is the quantity surveyor working for Sensori or the OPW?

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

Peadar Tóibín: For who?

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

Peadar Tóibín: Is the surveyor an employee of the OPW then?

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

Peadar Tóibín: So we also outsource the quantity surveyor in that regard.

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

Peadar Tóibín: This is incredible that we are outsourcing oversight to these Government projects in those terms.

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

Peadar Tóibín: It is important that the OPW has an internal oversight where people are employed directly in relation to this. Two suppliers were invited to quote for the Wicklow granite paving, for example. That was not tendered by the OPW. It was tendered by an outside company. Is that correct?

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

Peadar Tóibín: We walked over the area of the granite and I think it is 60 sq. m. From the figures that we see here that works out as €800 per sq. m and yet if you go online you can see Wicklow granite paving for about €200 per sq. m. My point is that we need to have internal checks and balances in relation to external contractors who, in fairness to them, are profit-generating organisations...

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

Peadar Tóibín: Can we have the quantity of works as well? When the OPW says that it has spent €121,000 on steel, if we are not given the quantity then how can we work out the exact cost per unit? Again, I feel the information we have been given here is not detailed enough for us to properly analyse it and I do not think that is by accident.

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: As was said earlier, Deputy Doherty asked for the full documentation to be furnished to the committee. It was the expectation of all committee members that all relevant documentation would be submitted. We look forward to hearing about it. It is very disturbing that Mr. Conlon cannot say this was a waste of money. We have to remember this is taxpayers' money, and when I say taxpayers, it...

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is the end of the process. Was it at the stage of being closed in November 2021?

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: There were no further bids after November 2021?

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: I am not suggesting anything different. I just want to get the timings right. The timings are very important in this. Mr. Conlon said earlier that he would re-scope the project if it were to come to his desk now. How many projects under €1 million have been re-scoped in the past because the project that was being presented was not deemed by the OPW to give value for money?

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: I appreciate Mr. Conlon might not have the documentation here today but perhaps he could let the committee have note of how many projects were re-scoped because they were deemed not to be value for money? That relates to projects under €1 million in the past four years. That would be useful. How many people were aware of what was happening? Who was involved? I know Mr. Conlon...

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: Three people made the decision that this was value for money.

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: That was one person. If there were a similar project today, would it be signed off by one person at the OPW rather than by group consensus?

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: If today there were a project for €200,000, would that be signed off by one person?

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes, but as was said earlier, the lessons to be learned were to be learned in 2014 when the Siopa was built, and obviously they have not. People will ask what reason they have to believe now that lessons are going to be learned. Lessons are going to be learned seems to be the mantra of so many things across government.

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

Rose Conway-Walsh: What were the values of the two other quotes from the contractors that were not selected? Mr. Conlon stated that he selected the cheapest one. What were the values of the other two?