asked the Minister for Finance when an additional electrical generator will be provided in Leinster House.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Leinster House Generator.
19.
Mr. Kenny
There is no request before me at present for an additional electrical generator in Leinster House. As the Deputy will appreciate, the motivation of any such proposal is a matter for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
So far as I can recollect, that permission of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges was not only obtained but sanction was given by the Minister for Finance for the amount of money involved.
Mr. Kenny
The Deputy asked this question last week but he is under a misapprehension in regard to the words "transformer" and "generator". I shall now clarify the position in relation to a generator. During the Deputy's term of office as Parliamentary Secretary he asked the Commissioners of Public Works to investigate the feasibility of installing a second generator to provide current in the office block in the event of public electricity cuts. There is an existing standby generator at Leinster House which can provide power, first, for a separate emergency system of lighting sufficient for exit purposes but not sufficient to allow normal work to proceed; Secondly, the Division bells, and, thirdly, sound reinforcing and tape recording in the Dáil and Senate Chambers. The commissioners advised, in July, 1972, that they could provide a second generator to operate fully all electrical services in the office block for about £15,000 or, alternatively, a generator to provide for the office block and Leinster House itself for about £28,000. That was in July, 1972.
This was considered for two years by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges who initially favoured the larger generator, but who finally decided, at a meeting on the 20th September, 1973, to take no further action in the matter. That is the clarification about the generator.