Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 270: To ask the Minister for Finance if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 208 of 16 May 2006, he will confirm if any Government Department, office or agency had a supervisory role in the construction of the Millennium Wing of the National Gallery of Ireland; if the building health and safety regulations apply to the main stairwell of the Millennium Wing and to stairwells in public buildings of this type; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19474/06]

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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The contracting authority for the Millennium Wing project was the National Gallery of Ireland. At that time, the National Gallery of Ireland reported to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, who provided a large proportion of the funding.

The Commissioners of Public Works provided technical advice and on delegated authority from the National Gallery of Ireland also provided project management services, i.e. management of the procurement, programme control and cost control for the project.

Certification of compliance with the building regulations, as advised in my previous answer, was fulfilled by the Gallery's architects, Benson & Forsyth.

In the case of the main stairwell of the Millennium Wing, it is the opinion of the Gallery's architects that the building and health and safety regulations are applicable. Regarding the applicability of building and health and safety regulations to public buildings of this type, each case must be judged on its individual merits.