asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider the introduction of proposals for legislation to provide for the abolition of the Commissioners of Public Works and in lieu thereof the attachment of professional experts to each Department of State, thus expediting the initiation and completion of Government projects.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Abolition of Office of Public Works.
The answer is in the negative.
Is the Minister satisfied that the Office of Public Works is an efficient and economic Department and that it is the best method of administering funds for expenditure on public works?
Whatever criticism the Deputy may have of the efficiency of the Board of Works, if it were split up into a dozen different branches each attached to a Government Department and doing the work of that particular Department, I think it would be much worse. The matter has been often examined and it is felt that it is better, more efficient and cheaper for the community to concentrate whateverarchitects, engineers and other skilled people necessary in the Board of Works—in the one Department—to carry out the work for all the Departments, which are non-technical and could not take a reasonable decision in their own case without hiring another lot of experts and architects.
Would the Minister not consider that it would be much more efficient to have attached to the various Departments experts in the particular Department, such as Education and Justice, to administer the funds allocated for expenditure on public works in that particular Department than to have this unwieldy body, which is merely a liaison between Finance and the various Departments?
It is very much more than a liaison between Finance and the various Departments. There is a big volume of Government constructions spread over a number of Departments. It varies from year to year in the various Departments and it is better to have the central pool and to have the experts who can take care of whatever volume of construction comes from particular Departments in any year.