Results 301-320 of 1,574 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

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

Marie Sherlock: I am concerned there is not a common-sense check somewhere in the organisation that ultimately would have put in context that this is a bike shelter and not something more elaborate. On the specifications, I see that lights and charging points were part of the original specification and do not appear to have been delivered on. Were they paid for?

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

Marie Sherlock: Are they operational now?

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

Marie Sherlock: The €336,151 is not the final figure for this bike shelter. There will be additional costs to make that operational into the future in terms of getting the fire certificates and all of that.

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

Marie Sherlock: I have a question for the Chairman. One of the things that really strikes me is that he said he will commission an external auditor to inform or advise as to how value for money can better inform practices in the organisation. With respect to Mr. Conlon, the OPW's bread and butter is spending money on maintenance and capital projects. Mr. Conlon's background within the public service has...

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

Marie Sherlock: I thank the Chair and I am conscious that this has been a very long afternoon for the witnesses. I must say it is extraordinary to hear that when we need buildings for childcare, art spaces, and a whole variety of uses, a building like that - although I do not know its dimensions - would end up on the open market. My question is in regard to the office portfolio of the OPW. I understand...

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

Marie Sherlock: Has any building leased by the OPW been vacant for 12 months or longer at this point?

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

Marie Sherlock: That is okay. I want to ask about Bishop’s Square, Dublin 2. I understand there are three leases there. I believe the combined cost of the three leases is €4.16 million, although those are the 2022 figures that were provided to Deputy Boyd Barrett. It may be the case that the amounts are greater now. I understand that when the leases were taken out, Bishop’s Square...

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

Marie Sherlock: I thank Mr. Conlon for giving that detail. He mentioned that landlord change was one of the factors, but was the full amount paid every year for the duration of the lease? He might update me on the current cost of the lease. The 2022 cost appears to have been €4.16 million per annum. Was that paid every year by the OPW to the landlord, notwithstanding the fact that there were...

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

Marie Sherlock: I would appreciate the detail on what was paid and when. It is alarming that a substantial lease - the sums have been articulated - would be paid to a landlord when the OPW is not using the building. I appreciate the fit-out can take time, but we are talking about weeks and months for that, rather than years. There are concerns about Bishop's Square and the waste of money that perhaps took...

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

Marie Sherlock: I do not mean to be pedantic. Is a lease agreed and then the design and fit-out worked out? It seems extraordinary that, on entering into a lease, the OPW does not have a very clear idea of how the building is used and a speedy fit-out takes place. I understood those issues would be ironed out in advance of taking a lease.

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

Marie Sherlock: What kind of rent is the OPW paying for the Distillers Building at this point in time?

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

Marie Sherlock: There was a rent free period. I am conscious of time.

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

Marie Sherlock: I would appreciate if the witnesses could furnish the detail. I am conscious that Mr. Conlon has only been in the role since April. What consideration or thinking has the OPW ever given to developing art spaces within the portfolio of heritage sites? I am thinking of Collins Barracks, in particular, which is a significant space and there would be interest in developing an artists' space...

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

Marie Sherlock: Of course. I thank Mr. Conlon.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (25 Sep 2024)

Marie Sherlock: We are resuming on amendment No. 63.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Blackspots: Discussion (25 Sep 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I am glad we are having this hearing because the newspaper headlines these days typically suggest that Ireland is at full employment, that everyone who wants a job can get one and so on. As we know, however, the reality is quite different for a considerable number of people who would like to work but are not necessarily looking for work because of various factors in their lives. There are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Blackspots: Discussion (25 Sep 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Exactly, in Dublin Port.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Blackspots: Discussion (25 Sep 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Do we have the right mix of formal structured training and less formal training, which keeps people there for three weeks and then they get into the right place?