Results 3,061-3,080 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: We do not anticipate delays in terms of vacating Harcourt Square. However, we always have contingencies, which is only right because it is our national police force.

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 unable to discuss them here.

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 being designed for 880-odd gardaí so it is a massive undertaking. The movement of gardaí into will start in October. We must give Harcourt Square back to the property owner by 31 December and we are on track to do that.

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 do not have that detail in front of me.

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: Within reason, we can provide whatever detail we have available to us.

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 understand that there is a lot of interest in the Galway scheme. I was glad to get the perspective of the engineers from the city council, our own people on the ground and some local people. Many people have many different perspectives about what should or, more importantly, should not happen. You will always hear about what should not happen. We know it is a very vulnerable part 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: Anecdotally, Senator Denis O'Donovan, from west Cork, told me when we were in Bantry, which is where I am going tomorrow, that when he was growing up a massive Atlantic storm was likely to hit Bantry once every ten or 15 years but now the area is hit by four or five Atlantic storms every two or three years. We are playing Russian roulette with these communities unless we can get on and...

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 number that I have is 883 gardaí. We can check and I can revert to the Deputy in writing.

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 thank the Vice Chairman for his question. Every building is different and we have a mixture that are in our custody. Over the last two years, the same as every element of construction, work has progressed on a stop-go basis due to Covid and we had to meet social distancing requirements but luckily now that has all stopped. Yes, is the short answer. We have our own limitations. We would...

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 do.

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: Absolutely, we do. Private owners of listed properties have an obligation to ensure that they look after them to a given standard. There is an obligation on us to look after them to a standard. We receive properties into our possession on occasion. I mentioned in my speech Annes Grove in County Cork. I was there during lockdown. Its story is one of lockdown, really. It will be open...

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 general, commemorations are managed and operated by the Department of the Taoiseach. As the Deputy knows, the OPW is an agency that supports the Department of the Taoiseach. In many cases, we do much of the back-of-house work or donkey work for the commemorations. We do all the heavy lifting and get none of the recognition, for want of a better way of putting it. Most 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 thank the Deputy. He is absolutely right. We have an ambitious programme for Rosslare Europort. The Deputy is also right that this is not an insignificant investment that we are about to embark on. It involves the OPW, Irish Rail, Wexford County Council, the local community, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Revenue Commissioners and a host of local agencies. 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 short answer is that it is not set in stone. It is up to every Department to identify how it will manage it. It is then up to us when asked how we will support it. We already support not only our own staff to work from home but we have also supported other Departments in this regard. There will be fundamental questions on office accommodation in this city. If we are going to have...

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 Deputy has answered his own question in a way. The main issue we have is planning-related. These are major schemes so when we anticipate, as we do, we plan on the basis of a forecast that things will move along smoothly and, naturally enough, we will build into our capital plan a sufficient amount to allow for that. For instance, the profile for 2019 to 2021 combined Crossmolina,...

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.

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 were other schemes. There are a load of schemes in the station that cannot get on the train because, unfortunately, the judicial review process has a knock-on consequence. There is a finite and limited number of staff who can work on all these schemes, whether they are in the engineering or environmental elements of them. We do not have people sitting around doing nothing. All our...

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: No.

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 of these schemes that are stuck are much bigger than the ones coming on behind them. Even though some of the schemes coming on behind are smaller, that does not mean they require any less environmental consideration, any less engineering and any less attention from the OPW or local authorities. It does not mean that just because they are-----

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 is not a capacity issue.