Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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131. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the labour costs to date of building the wall on the Hill of Tara. [4932/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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The Office of Public Works has responsibility for the conservation, maintenance and presentation of 780 National Monuments in State ownership or guardianship. The statutory role of the OPW in respect of this estate is set out in the National Monument Acts 1931-2023. The OPW is funded annually through the Oireachtas to care for and conserve this estate which is largely located in rural settings, geographically dispersed across twenty-six counties. The OPW employs a direct-labour workforce of specialist stone masons, craft joiners, plasterers, painters and general operatives who are responsible for the maintenance of the monuments portfolio. The OPW maintains a workforce with the requisite traditional craft-skills to care for our National Monuments and seeks to train a future generation of skilled craftspeople through apprenticeships to ensure that we can sustain the conservation of the portfolio into the future.

The OPW Trim District is charged with the care and maintenance of 165 National Monuments sites spread across ten counties. In any given year they will be working on a mix of projects which will include planned conservation work such as the project at Tara while also responding to emergency works such as stone wall collapses. Additionally there is a detailed programme of maintenance of both the guided and unmanned monument sites therefore the workforce is deployed to meet the priorities across the district in an efficient and timely manner.

The planned conservation and repair of the historic graveyard wall at Tara has been ongoing in phases since 2014 alongside a range of other conservation, repair and emergency maintenance projects across the District. It would not be possible to record staff pay apportioned across works relating to 165 different properties and as such, it is not possible to give specific labour costs associated with the conservation work specifically at Tara.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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132. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to provide free sanitary products in all public buildings under the remit of the OPW; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4947/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages a significant part of the State’s property portfolio including office buildings and heritage properties / visitor centres. The day to day management of the office buildings is carried out by the occupying Government Department / Body and therefore the provision of free sanitary products in offices open to the public is a matter for each individual organisation. Within the OPW, the Heritage Services Division manage approximately 70 guided visitor sites. The OPW will consult with the relevant policy stakeholders in relation to the development of its policy in 2025.