Results 3,041-3,060 of 10,569 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: I am pleased to appear before the committee to present the 2022 Revised Estimate for the Office of Public Works. The gross allocation for 2022 is just shy of €597 million, which comprises €143 million for flood risk management and €454 million to be invested in estate management. Given the recent easing of restrictions by Government, I pay tribute to the staff of the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: I am a Member of this House as well and I take allegations of that nature seriously. Some of them were circulating in the media prior to my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW. None of the allegations that have circulated recently is new and many of them are historical. Most have been the subject of internal audits within the OPW. Some do not involve the OPW...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: The chairman is the organisation's Accounting Officer and is answerable to the Oireachtas. I am not the Accounting Officer. The day-to-day operation and management of the organisation are matters for the Accounting Officer. He has been before the Committee of Public Accounts dealing with, in particular, the steps that have been taken as regards valuations. In the immediate aftermath of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: We have made significant progress in this area. We have made a lot of progress with local authorities in particular. When I was appointed, I was very keen to engage with local authorities and other public bodies so that if there was a vacant property, we would give local authorities and other public bodies first refusal and ultimately get to community groups if community groups had a viable...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: It represents 99 buildings. Of those, 36 are Garda stations. They represent 36 of the 139 that would have been in the original number that had been closed as part of the consolidation of Garda stations. The number has dropped considerably. We have a plan for all of them in terms of the number of properties that are unoccupied. In other words, we are working through them. By the end of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: Some properties may have come on to the list but I can tell the Deputy that at the moment-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: In total, we have 31 sites and 68 buildings.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: There are 99 properties, of which 31 are sites and 68 are buildings. So the number of buildings has dropped.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: For the benefit of the committee, I can say that 36 are former Garda stations, eight are other former Garda stations that predate the closures that are historic, two are former Garda residences, eight are Coast Guard properties, two are former customs properties, one is a former Met Éireann property and there are several other properties. Of the sites, seven are decentralisation sites,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: Military Road is not too small. It is important not to believe everything you read in the papers.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: Military Road is on schedule, target and budget. It will be opened and we will vacate Harcourt Square-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: Yes. The new premises is being built to the specification of An Garda Síochána. It is not too small. It is built as per the security specification laid out to the OPW. We do not lay down the specification. It is laid down to us so we agreed it with An Garda Síochána. Gardaí will be in well before the time by which we need to vacate Harcourt Square. The...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Patrick O'Donovan: The date is 31 December.