Results 221-240 of 1,048,813 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Denis Naughten OR speaker:Marc MacSharry OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly) in 'Committee meetings'

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)

Mr. John Conlan: The OPW has constructed and finalised a project in relation to the security pavilion on the south gate entrance to Government Buildings.

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

Mr. John Conlan: Can I give some outline of that because that project followed a finish-----

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

Mr. John Conlan: The full cost of that project was €1.429 million.

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

Mr. John Conlan: I want to emphasise that that followed an extensive review of security in this campus by the Garda Síochána technical advisory group. While it looks like, and is a fairly significant cost, there are very significant mechanical and electrical security system costs in that. There was also a significant cost to provide a temporary structure while that building was...

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

Mr. John Conlan: There is.

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

Mr. John Conlon: No.

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

Mr. John Conlon: It was competitively tendered.

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

Steven Matthews: Who signs off on something at that level of cost? Does that need to go to ministerial level to sign off on it?

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

Steven Matthews: Assistant secretary within the Department of Finance.

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

Steven Matthews: We have a bicycle shelter for €336,000 and a security hut for €1.4 million. I take the point that-----

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

Steven Matthews: I know they are two completely different projects, but does that seem like an excessive price? I accept there is a security element to it and the controls involved there. It is a beautiful structure. Is it excessive for the function it performs?

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

Steven Matthews: Notwithstanding the security considerations of that, is Mr. Conlon in a position to provide us with a breakdown of the costs of that? I do not mind if he has to remove the sensitive security nature of it, but I am interested to see if it was value for money. We are picking holes in the costs of this bike shelter. A total of €50,000 was paid for granite landscaping and I do not think...

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

Ms Rosemary Collier: It was tendered in July 2021 with a closing date in November 2021. A detailed assessment would have taken place and would have taken a number of months. The contract was then placed in May 2022. The end of the procurement process is when the contract is placed.

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

Ms Rosemary Collier: As in bids were received by the end of November 2021 but would not have been assessed. They would have been nowhere near being assessed. It is quite a substantial process to assess all the bids related to the measured term maintenance contract. That would have taken months to do.

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?