Results 661-680 of 36,762 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an choiste. As regards subhead B8, we are talking about rents there, and a number of others have mentioned it. Is the Minister of State aware of the Distillers Building in Smithfield? Is that occupied at the minute?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: How much have we spent in rent on that building so far? Does the Minister of State have that figure?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: It was reported previously that it was about €12 million up to the start of this year, so it has probably gone over that now. To turn to the cost of the agreement entered into - I appreciate this was before the Minister of State's time, but he is now in this role - would I be right in saying the 25-year lease is worth about €200 million? I understand it is €8 million a...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: It is €200 million. Would I be right in saying the estimate for the fit-out was about €60 million?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: The State is going to rent a building that will cost €260 million over the next 25 years, which is the equivalent of about €15,000 per square metre. The Central Bank estimated what prime city centre retail space cost to buy, and it is about half that cost annually. We could actually buy that building for significantly less than the cost of renting it over the next 25 years....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: I represent my constituency of Donegal, but I would meet very few people on the street who would say it was a good idea for the OPW to rent a building in Dublin city centre for €12 million that nobody has been in for the last year and a half and that nobody will be in until September. We will see if that deadline is met.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: The point is it is taxpayers' money. Nobody is in that building and we are renting it for €12 million.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: I will just ask another question and I asked it of the senior Minister already. It concerns the residential properties in the Phoenix Park. It was reported in the Irish Daily Mail and we flagged the issue to the Minister of State, so I am sure he is familiar with it. Will he explain how much rent is charged on each of those houses?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: I am sorry for interrupting, but I am pushed for time. The question is on how much rent is being charged on those houses and what the process is for handing out OPW houses.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: I am going to ask all my questions together because I am under pressure for time. How much rent is generated by the houses, either individually or taking the seven combined? What is the process for handing out OPW houses to public sector workers and how many OPW residential properties are being let out for residential use?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: It is a differential rent. Is it like a council house rent?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: This is the Estimates process. Can the Minister of State tell us the rent being paid on the seven houses combined? Is that information available to the public?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: Will the Minister of State provide the committee with the documentation that shows how these houses are rented and how the rents are calculated, please? Is that possible?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: Are these the only residential houses that the OPW rents out?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, I appreciate that.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025.
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (Revised) (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister of State.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Engagement with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: We will get a chance to talk about some of the projects in Donegal at a later stage. I invited the Minister of State to the county and I look forward to his visit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Engagement with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: We are ready to treat you and wine and dine you.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Engagement with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (2 Jul 2025)

Pearse Doherty: As long as the Minister of State takes the chequebook for all the projects, we will be happy. There are a couple of dates we do not want him to come down to us. We have the all-Ireland semi-final coming up and the final as well.