A sum of £67,971,000 is the amount being sought for Vote 9, Public Works and Buildings for 1981 under various subheads.
The administrative expenses of the Office of Public Works and the wages and allowances of the President's household staff are met from subheads A1 to C and an amount of £10,585,000 is required in respect of these.
An amount of £4.6 million is required under subhead D for the acquisition of sites and premises for various Government services, including the acquisition of the fee simple of some existing leasehold premises. A sum of £½ million has been included for the purchase of sites for new offices to be built under the programme of decentralisation of Government staff in 12 provincial centres. I would like to acknowledge the very valuable assistance rendered by the various local authorities in securing sites for this purpose. In some cases they have made sites available and, where this was not possible, they have been extremely helpful in the search for privately-owned sites.
This subhead also provides for the purchase of land for national parks and for the national monuments and waterways services. Nowadays, with expanding urbanisation, it is desirable to preserve areas where scenic beauty, natural plant life and wildlife remain undisturbed by development and to make them available for the enjoyment and recreation of our own people and of overseas visitors. In so far as available resources permit, the commissioners are continuing with their national parks programme, an important part of which is the acquisition of land for the expansion and development of parks in Killarney, Connemara, Glenveagh in County Donegal and the Burren in County Clare. The provision included in respect of national monuments provides not alone for acquiring monuments but also for the purchase of sites to provide visitor facilities and work depots. The cost of purchasing sites to provide improved facilities for the Shannon navigation is also met from this subhead.
The total amount required for works to be carried out under subhead E is £21,830,000, which represents the estimated expenditure on building new offices and providing improved accommodation for Government Departments and improved facilities for the various services which they administer. The programme is well under way and will be maintained this year.
Included in this amount is a figure of £1.6 million in respect of the programme for the decentralisation of Government Departments on which it is hoped to make good progress in the current year. As has already been announced, the Government are anxious to encourage involvement by the private sector in the development of this programme.
Also included is an amount of £304,000 in respect of major and minor new works at our national parks and monuments. A new access road is being provided at Connemara National Park, which was opened last year, and work on a new centre for visitors will start soon at Glenveagh National Park. A new sewage treatment plant at Muckross House in Killarney is nearing completion. Plans for the adaptation of the former Apostolic Nunciature buildings in the Phoenix Park to provide a national heritage centre and park administration-maintenance centre are being prepared and a new information centre and car park at Knockmaroon has been completed and will be opened to the public shortly. Works are in progress on the provision of visitor facilities at Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel and, in co-operation with Bord Fáilte and the Forest and Wildlife Service of the Department of Fisheries and Forestry, planning for the provision of a visitor centre and car park at Glendalough is progressing. A new central depot for the maintenance of monuments in the north west is being established at Dromahair, County Leitrim.
Provision is also made under the subhead for continued investment in the development of Shannon Navigation. Over the last ten years, the Office of Public Works have co-operated with Bord Fáilte and the local authorities in improving facilities in order to develop the great potential of the waterway for recreational use. Over £600,000 has been spent on development works including the provision of a new harbour at Portumna, major developments at Mount-shannon and the restoration of the Lough Allen canal as far as Acres Lough. Works in progress include a new harbour at Dromod, dry docks at Rooskey and the provision of additional facilities at Drumsna, Hodson's Bay and Shannon-bridge. It is hoped to commence work this year at other centres including Dromineer harbour which is being transferred to the Commissioners of Public Works by Tipperary (North Riding) County Council.
In addition to providing new amenities, the commissioners are also responsible for operating and maintaining existing facilities on the Shannon Navigation on which they have spent over £2 million in the last ten years.
An amount of £1,430,000 is required for works for the Department of Finance. Of this £120,000 is in respect of various improvement works at the Ordnance Survey Office. It is expected that works on the refurbishment of the north block of Government Buildings will be completed this year and that the long due work of renovating the facade of these buildings will also be carried out. Construction of a new building for the State Laboratory at Abbotstown, County Dublin is in progress and planning for the provision of alternative accommodation for the Stationery Office at Bishop Street, Dublin, is at an advanced stage.
The sum of £187,000 is being provided for works at various customs posts. Tenders have been received for a new customs and excise office in Burnfoot and it is hoped to place a contract shortly.
Tenders are being invited for the provision of a new training centre for the Department of the Public Service and the Institute of Public Administration at Clonskeagh, Dublin and it is hoped to place a contract for this work later this year.
A total sum of £1,790,000 is required in respect of works which will be undertaken for the Department of Justice and of this an amount of £1,590,000 is in respect of works for the Garda. This provides for the erection of new Garda stations and residences, for the improvement of existing Garda accommodation and for other works at the Garda Depot and the Templemore Training Centre. The good progress made last year in the replacement of sub-standard accommodation will be maintained in the current year. While major works were completed last year at 11 centres including Mallow, Manorhamilton, Kildare, Fermoy and Irishtown, Dublin, ten contracts are still in progress and tenders for the erection of new stations at ten other centres are under consideration. Work is also expected to commence during the year on the erection of a new divisional headquarters at Tralee and a new district headquarters at Carrick-on-Shannon. The planning of buildings at 18 other centres including a divisional headquarters at Monaghan and district headquarters at Oughterard, Tipperary town and Wicklow is at a very advanced stage. Planning is also proceeding for the provision of a new training college for Garda officers of the rank of inspector and upwards at the Templemore Training Centre and for the provision of accommodation for a computer at the Garda Depot, Phoenix Park. Planning for new and additional court accommodation is also proceeding.
With regard to accommodation and working facilities for State employees generally, great strides have been made in the past decade to provide a modern environment of a high standard. Having regard to the expansion of the public service in that period and the additional accommodation that had to be found to cater for those increased staff numbers, the progress made with up-dating and replacing older buildings has been quite good. The work has been going ahead steadily in accordance with programmes designed to deal with all of the buildings in each category in an orderly way. In any such programme some buildings must be towards the end of the queue and it is inevitable that the occupants of those buildings seeing the great improvements in others will be disappointed at the necessary lead-in time to a solution to their particular situations. I understand their disappointment but I say again that the only way to deal with the formidable task of refurbishing and replacing a large number of buildings is by way of orderly programmes of works which must be adhered to and advanced in accordance with the resources available from time to time.
An amount of £315,000 is required for works for the Department of Education. This is mainly required for the provision of much-needed additional accommodation for the National Library and improvements to the present premises and also improvements to the National Museum. Tenders are under consideration for the adaptation of premises at 23 Kildare Street to provide additional accommodation for the National Library and it is expected that a contract will be placed shortly.
An amount of £822,000 is required for various works for the Department of Agriculture. The grain storage complex at Abbotstown, County Dublin is almost complete. Tenders will shortly be invited for a new sewerage scheme and a unit for the treatment of rabies, swine fever and poultry disease also at Abbotstown. The provision of new student accommodation and a new water supply at Ballyhaise is in hands and other projects are at planning stage. Planning of approved accommodation at the Botanic Gardens to include a new library and herbarium and an extension to the Department's offices at Castlebar is at an advanced stage. Of the £70,000 required for works for the Department of Transport, £60,000 is in respect of an extension to Valentia Coast Radio Station for which tenders will shortly be invited.
A total sum of £2,050,000 is required for works for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. Building of a new post office at Mullingar is in progress and Longford new post office is nearing completion. In addition to the works covered by this Estimate, the commissioners are undertaking the provision of the buildings required for the telecommunications development programme. Most of the expenditure on these buildings is met from the telephone capital account. To give an indication of the massive scale of this programme I might mention that there are at present almost 150 buildings under construction. These range from small rural automatic exchanges to the large complex at Mervue in Galway. The expenditure from the telephone capital account in 1980 was in excess of £21 million and it is expected that expenditure in the current year will be more than double that figure. The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when speaking in the Dáil on 18 December 1980 paid a tribute to the dedication and enthusiasm of the Office of Public Works and I am very happy to endorse what he said.
An amount of £1,600,000 is being provided for embassy building abroad for the Department of Foreign Affairs. Fitting out works have been completed at the chanceries in Copenhagen and Madrid and work is in progress at the Peking and Nairobi Embassies. Fitting out of premises at Dar-es-Salaam and Beirut and the improvement of premises at Washington, Lagos and New Delhi will be done this year. Planning for new Embassies at Canberra and Riyadh is proceeding.
An amount of £775,000 is required for employment exchange buildings. Work on the adaptation of premises at Thomas Street, Dublin, and on the erection of a new exchange at Dún Laoghaire is nearing completion while the exchange at Manorhamilton has recently been completed. Planning for exchanges at Limerick and Newcastlewest is in progress.
An amount of £5,105,000 is required for the erection of new office buildings and the fitting out of premises for occupation by various Government Departments.
Last year saw the completion of new Government offices in Mullingar and an extension to Tralee custom house. The construction of Government offices in Athlone and Waterford and the re-furbishment of numbers 14-16 Upper Merrion Street, as well as the second stage of the new Garda Headquarters at the Phoenix Park, will be completed this year.
Work is proceeding on the second stage of the development of 93-99 Lower Leeson Street to house the Department of Fisheries and Forestry and others. Phase I of the office development at Beggar's Bush to house the Geological Survey Office and the Labour Court is progressing and is due to be completed next year. Work will commence shortly on the erection of new Government offices at Carrick-on-Shannon, Cork, Navan and Thurles. Other developments being planned include a new headquarters building for the Department of Defence, further developments at Beggar's Bush, Marlborough Street/Waterford Street, the rehabilitation of areas of Dublin Castle, and new Government offices at Kilkenny, Portlaoise, Sligo and Wexford.
I am pleased to state that the conversion of the former UCD premises at Earlsfort Terrace into a concert hall is reaching completion and it is expected that the opening concert will be held in May of this year. This concert hall of international standard will provide a long awaited amenity for music lovers. A list of the various works has been made available to Deputies and I hope this will be of use.
A total of £28,763,000 is required in respect of the subheads F.1 to F4. These subheads provide for the normal day to day maintenance, furnishing, leasing, heating, lighting, and so on, of Government offices, Garda stations, post office buildings, employment exchanges, social welfare offices, agricultural institutions, Irish embassies abroad and other State owned buildings. They also provide for the maintenance of certain State-owned harbours, the River Shannon navigation and the various national parks.
While this figure represents an increase of approximately 20 per cent over the amount provided for these subheads, inclusive of the Supplementary Estimate in 1980, the increase is necessary to cover increases in costs, expansion of the various services, increases in rents arising from renewals of leases and review provisions in existing leases and to allow for the leasing of new premises and the replacement of unsuitable accommodation.
The amount sought under subhead F.5—£690,000—is required to meet expenditure on the reconstruction of Waterford courthouse which is being undertaken on behalf of Waterford Corporation who are repaying the cost.
An amount of £10,470,000 is being sought for subheads G.1 to G.3 in connection with the arterial drainage programme which is being undertaken under the Arterial Drainage Act of 1945.
While subhead G.1 provides for the carrying out of hydrometric studies and of comprehensive drainage surveys as a necessary preliminary to arterial drainage schemes, subhead G.2 provides for drainage construction works in progress. Work is proceeding on the Boyne, Maigue and Corrib-Mask-Robe schemes and the Boyle and Bonet schemes should commence during the year. In fact I had hoped that the latter schemes would commence during 1980 but, due to difficulties in completing the statutory requirements of exhibition of the scheme, consideration of observations and so on, received and confirmed, this did not prove possible. Fifty per cent of moneys expended on drainage construction works on the Corrib-Mask-Robe, Boyle and Bonet schemes will be recoverable from the EEC under the programme for the acceleration of drainage works in the western region. Subhead G.3 covers the cost of maintenance of completed drainage and embankment schemes and the cost of this is recovered from the county councils concerned.
An amount of £2,678,000 is required in respect of subhead H for the purchase of engineering plant and machinery, the purchase of stores and the payment of wages to the staff of the central engineering workshop.
An amount of £197,000 is required in respect of subhead I.1 to cover the cost of completing the coast protection scheme at Enniscrone, County Sligo, and also to enable works to commence on a new scheme at Ballyvoile, County Waterford. Included also is an amount to cover the maintenance of the completed schemes at Rosslare and Youghal, the cost of which is recoverable from the county councils involved.
An amount of £1,643,000 is required in respect of subhead J.1 to meet the cost of maintenance and presentation of the 569 monuments currently in State care, for archaeological excavation and for expenses incurred in connection with the archaeological survey.
Conservation of monuments in the care of the commissioners is a continuing process. Last year major works were completed at Abbey Friary and Portumna Castle in County Galway, the Vicar's Choral at the Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary and Castle Carra, County Mayo to mention a few. Works will continue this year at Abbey Knockmoy and Kilconnell Abbey, County Galway, Ennis Abbey, County Clare, Ferns Castle and Tintern Abbey, County Wexford, Cahir and Grallagh Castles, County Tipperary, Ross Castle and Skellig Michael, County Kerry, Glenquin Castle, County Limerick, Glanworth Castle, French Prison, James and Charles Forts, County Cork, Ballymote Castle, County Sligo and Donegal Castle among others. Work will also continue at the Casino, Marino, Dublin.
In addition to the monuments in full State care many field monuments are being preserved through the process of listing under the National Monuments Acts. A total of 297 monuments were listed in 1980. There are occasions, however, when the commissioners must resort to stronger measures by making preservation orders and during the past year five such orders were made.
Grants for research archaeological excavations are to be made again this year. This will enable the investigation of the major site at Knowth to continue as well as the investigations at Carrowmore megalithic cemetery, County Sligo.
During the past year the staff engaged on the Archaeological Survey has been increased and this will help to speed up the rate of progress of the survey, the purpose of which is to record all the monuments in the country. This year a start is being made on the preliminary survey of County Carlow. Consideration of the provision of a modern information storage and retrieval system for the survey is well advanced.
The commissioners recently held a four-day course at Kilkenny Castle to develop a programme of training for temporary guides who are recruited each season at a number of selected monuments and park properties. Personnel from Killarney National Park, Kilkenny Castle, Newgrange Tumulus, Clonmacnoise, State Apartments, Dublin Castle, Rock of Cashel, Connemara National Park, Derrynane Historic Park, Muckross House, Cahir Castle and Saint Enda's, Rathfarnham, attended the course which was conducted by CERT — the Council for Education, Recruitment and Training for the hotel, catering and tourism industries.
More than 500,000 people visited these sites last year where up to 60 temporary staff were recruited to provide a guide-information service. The temporary guides employed were generally university students residing in the locality and pursuing a course of studies relevant to the site at which they were employed. The proceeds from the admission charges in operation at a number of the sites is usually sufficient to cover the wages of the temporary guides.
An amount of £15,000 is required to pay outstanding expenses in respect of the restoration of Holy Cross Abbey.
The Office of Public Works carry out a large volume of works for other Departments not covered by this Vote. I have mentioned already the Department of Posts and Telegraphs but in addition the Department of Education have allocated £30 million to the commissioners for the primary school building programme and similarly the Department of Justice have allocated more than £10 million in respect of prison works and approximately 24 million has been allocated for harbour works. This means that in 1981 the total gross expenditure for which the office will be responsible will be in the region of £167 million.
It is clear from this that the activities of the Office of Public Works are far-reaching and varied and that they touch on many aspects of life in all parts of the country. This will be reflected, I am sure, in Deputies' comments to which I now look forward. When replying to these comments I will do my best to answer any queries raised.