asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the nature of the work on Árus an Uachtaráin for which it is proposed to expend the sum of £44,970 in the financial year 1954-55, in view of the fact that a total sum of £86,379 19s. 4d. has been expended on the building during the period 1948-54.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Árus an Uachtaráin.
The purposes for which the sum of £44,970 is provided are as follows:—
1. £32,000 for improvements to the east wing of the main building in respect of which a contract is at present in progress and which include the provision of a new boiler-house; kitchen; cloakroom and lavatory accommodation; new main staircase and various alterations to existing rooms.
2. £12,970 for the general repair and maintenance of buildings and equipment including painting where necessary, the upkeep of gardens and grounds and the wages of the staff engaged on that duty and on gatekeeping.
Surely the Parliamentary Secretary will agree that an expenditure of £45,000 in six years on a building of this kind requires some justification. Would it not have been cheaper to erect a new building than to go on at this rate? Surely even at this stage an expenditure of this kind requires some justification, especially in view of the cost of maintaining that building for so many years before that?
Will the Parliamentary Secretary say when this expenditure is going to cease, or are we going to continue to expend thousands of pounds annually on the building?
That is a separate question.