asked the Minister for Finance (a) the total expenditure to date by the Office of Public Works due to the Government's decision to transfer the Departments of Education and Lands to Athlone and Castlebar; (b) the amount expended on (i) sites and (ii) consultants' and other fees; (c) when work will commence in Athlone and Castlebar; and (d) the estimated cost of (i) Athlone and (ii) Castlebar buildings.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Transfer of Government Departments.
38.
(a) The total expenditure to date is £71,333. (b) Of this amount, £28,407 was expended on site acquisition and £41,314 on consultants' and other fees. (c) It is expected that construction work on the first stage of both projects will commence in about 12 months time. (d) The estimated cost of the complete building scheme for Athlone is £1,250,000 and for Castlebar £1,650,000.
What is the reason for the delay? Why will it be another year before the first stage is reached? What exactly does the first stage mean? Is it the planting of the trees or anything like that?
No. Originally the decision was to transfer an entire Department in one operation to each of these places. Now it is proposed not to do the entire Department but to do it in parts.
When was that decision taken? Has it been announced in public? I do not think that decision was announced.
The Office of Public Works have been asked to revise the plans. We are doing this now and we should be ready within a year.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that Ministers have misled the people if what he now says is true? Is he aware that the Taoiseach assured the people in Castlebar that the Department of Lands was coming to Castlebar and the Department of Education was coming to Athlone?
In time. What I am trying to say is that an entire Department will not be moved in one single sweep. The plans should be ready within the current financial year and the actual work on the site should start in about a year from now.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary mean that part of the Department of Lands will come now and the remainder later? Or does he mean that only part of the Department of Lands is going to Castlebar and part of the Department of Education is going to Athlone?
What I am trying to say is that it is not now proposed that the entire Department will be transferred in one operation.
Will the entire Department be transferred at some time?
That is a matter for the Government.
It is a matter for this House which has to approve the cost.
Are the Government now reneging on the promises they made before the election?
(Interruptions.)
The question related to expenditure.
This is the first time we were told about another breach of a promise made by the Government before an election.
The Deputy has not been paying attention. This has been said a number of times.
This is more of the low standards in high places: making promises and not carrying them out.
The Taoiseach made the statement that these two Departments were being moved to Castlebar and Athlone.
I am not aware of any change of plan. All I am aware is that the Government asked us to prepare——
The Minister admitted that there is a change of plan.
The Minister has told the Deputy that what has been said on a number of occasions in the past few months is precisely what the Parliamentary Secretary has said just now. Deputy L'Estrange was not paying any attention. He was asleep again.
What is the distinction between the Parliamentary Secretary saying that it is not proposed to change the plan and his earlier statement that he has been asked to revise it? The use of language in those benches always interests us over here. Could we be enlightened on that?
I will repeat again that it was intended to transfer all the operations of the Departments in one operation and now it is intended to do it in stages.
How can you revise a plan without changing it?
It is a better way of doing it.