Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 26 Feb 1964

Vol. 207 No. 12

Committee on Finance. - Vote 9—Public Works and Buildings.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance (Mr. O'Malley)

I move:

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £620,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1964, for Expenditure in respect of Public Buildings; for the Maintenance of certain Parks and Public Works; for the Execution and Maintenance of Drainage and other Engineering Works; and for a Grant-in-Aid of the River Shannon Navigation.

This Supplementary Estimate is for increased expenditure on Subheads A, B, C, D and F of the Vote for Public Works and Buildings. The gross additional expenditure is estimated at £745,000 but this is offset in part by expected savings on other subheads and increased receipts from appropriations-in-aid, Subhead K. The increase in receipts is £37,000 and the savings on other subheads are £88,000 leaving a net £620,000 to be voted.

Subhead A covers the purchase of sites and buildings. It is difficult to forecast expenditure on this item accurately because of unexpected demands for accommodation, and to meet these, premises have to be purchased as they become available. Properties to be purchased during the current year include:

(a) premises which will be used as a central architectural workshop by the Office of Public Works. For some years past, the Commissioners, in the interests of efficiency, have been seeking to centralise their architectural workshops, at present scattered throughout the city in over a dozen different and mostly unsatisfactory premises. Suitable premises have now become available;

(b) a building to be used as a new headquarters by the Irish Red Cross Society and;

(c) premises in Kildare Street which will be used as Government offices. Present indications are that the original estimate for the current year will be too low by about £50,000.

The increase in Subhead B is one which I feel Deputies will welcome as it is due mainly to the success of our efforts to produce more and better national schools. We will need £500,000 extra for those but as some savings are expected on other items in the subhead the net additional requirement will be £450,000.

It had been considered that making the best use of the staff and facilities available the most that could be achieved in dealing with the problem of worn out school buildings was that they should be replaced at the rate of providing near 100 schools a year and at the same time to carry out about 50 major improvement and renovation schemes. The organisation of the Office of Public Works has now been geared to produce plans to service that programme. In introducing the Estimates for Public Works and Buildings last May I spoke of the acceleration in the school building programme and I quoted figures to show what had been done at that time and the number of school building projects in course of construction was 198 — 137 new schools, and 61 major improvement schemes. The corresponding figures now are 235—161 new schools and 74 major improvement schemes. During the ten months ended 31st January, 1964, a total of 163 contracts were placed—98 new schools and 65 major improvement schemes. The gross provision of £1.9 million for schools in the current year's Vote has been exceeded already and it is expected that a further £500,000 will be needed to meet commitments.

I think you will agree that we are following the right course in pressing on with the replacement of old schools as fast as possible and the work still to be done in this respect is formidable. The Minister for Education informed the House some weeks ago that there were some 650 schools scheduled by his Department for replacement. These will be replaced in the next six years but as time passes additional old school buildings fall due for relacement at the rate of perhaps 50 a year. There are about 4,800 schools in the country and of these some 1,600 have been built and 800 have undergone major improvement since 1922. That is to say that about half the schools in the country have been erected or renovated since the foundation of the State but some of these, done in the early years, while structurally sound, are unsuited to modern educational requirements and need improvement.

To cope with a programme of this size in a reasonable time and to ensure the best return for the considerable capital which will be required it is essential that old methods and old ideas should receive a critical reappraisal and that we should be bold enough to examine objectively all new proposals which make for speed and economy. We must bear in mind also that needs are changing and that standards are constantly rising. I have outlined previously some of the steps which had been taken in this direction by the Office of Public Works in collaboration with the Department of Education. The research and development of which I spoke has continued and last September a prototype of a classroom with sanitary and cloakroom accommodation, designed to a new modular plan, was erected in Dublin. In this building, factory-made timber units were used extensively for roof and wall cladding. The building has weathered well during the winter and a permanent school of this type will be erected in County Dublin shortly.

I must stress that this is an experiment but, if it proves sucessful, as I believe it will, then we will have a method by which we should be able to expand very greatly the number of new schools to be provided each year. That is, of course, dependent on several considerations not the least being the provision of suitable sites and the co-operation of the building trade which I have little doubt will be forthcoming. An essential feature of any great expansion in such building would be bulk tendering and that is a matter which I will have to examine very closely.

We are very anxiously concerned with solving the school building problem as quickly as we reasonably can and for that purpose the Office of Public Works is continuing research into all aspects of school building techniques to find the best solution.

Subhead C covers general maintenance of more than 2,000 buildings and properties all over the country as well as parks and harbours. Many of the buildings are old and while normal maintenance requirements, such as redecoration, can be estimated fairly accurately it is not easy to foresee all the repair works that have to be done. Increases in wages and rising costs contribute to the extra £175,000 which is needed.

Subhead D provides for the furnishing requirements of all Government Departments. Costs of furniture generally have risen and the Departmental demands were greater than was expected, for instance, for expanded agricultural services and more desks, etc., to cater for the additional candidates at the Department of Education examinations. £40,000 more is needed.

Subhead F provides for the needs of Government premises in the matter of heating and lighting. The extra £30,000 required is due to increases in fuel costs, coupled with the unusually cold weather of last spring, as well as to an expansion in the use of electricity in common with the rest of the world.

It is established policy to use native fuel wherever practicable, and already three-quarters of the sum voted under this subhead is expended on turf and electricity. As existing heating plants wear out they are replaced by equipment suitable for the consumption of native fuels. The old coal fired boilers which served the major heating installation at the Central Hospital, Dundrum, were recently replaced by turf-burning equipment. As we expected, the new boilers are giving excellent results and turf is proving to be a highly efficient and economic fuel. Deputies may be aware that the heating system of Leinster House and the surrounding Government Buildings is also being changed and it is expected that it will be entirely turf-fired as from October next.

On Subhead K—Appropriations-in-Aid—we are getting rather more than was expected—an increase of £37,000 on £280,000. This is made up of various items, the most important being for sales of surplus property which is producing £16,000 more than the Estimate—to some extent due to a carry-over from the previous year because some sales effected in 1962/63 were not completed until the current year.

I trust that these few remarks will explain the need for the Supplementary Estimate. If any Deputy would like more information, I shall do my best to give it to him.

Mr. T. Lynch

This is what one might call an open and shut Supplementary Estimate. There are only a few points I should like to make on it, but, first of all, I should like to take this opportunity of thanking the Parliamentary Secretary for his courtesy in supplying me with a statement so early. That is a practice I would commend to his colleagues.

Under Subhead A—purchase of sites and buildings—the Parliamentary Secretary refers to premises in Kildare Street which are being acquired for use as Government offices. I hope that these premises are near the National Library and I would suggest to the Parliamentary Secretary that he should make some part of them available to the staff of the National Library. There is a great deal of overcrowding in the Library at the moment. I know a new one will be built, but, at the same time, more and more books and documents are pouring in to the Library and there is simply no accommodation for them. I draw his attention to that.

It is wholly admirable that the State should interest itself in the provision of a new headquarters for the Irish Red Cross. We were on the receiving end of bounties from countries all over the world in our poorer days. The Irish Red Cross Society have helped people throughout the world who suffered disaster, famine and so on and it is a good thing that Ireland, in the words of Emmett, can take her place among the nations of the earth in a matter like this and it could not be done better than under the banner of the Irish Red Cross.

The Parliamentary Secretary has referred to the erection of prefabricated schools. I know this is an experiment and if it were a failure, I would not do what the Parliamentary Secretary's colleagues would do, come into the House and jeer him for it. I would commend him for taking a calculated risk. He is taking a chance which may not click but, if it does not, he will receive no criticism from me. I realise that as far as is humanly possible, he has investigated this. I saw a film of it on television and it looks all right. According to the Parliamentary Secretary's speech, it is expected that one of them will be erected in Dublin shortly and I am sure the House will join with me in wishing him well in this venture.

Looking at the figures mentioned here, 4,800 schools throughout the country, we realise the great task that confronts the Office of Public Works. There is often agitation about schools being in bad condition, even strikes being called, but only a certain number of schools can be built in one year. There is a very high figure indeed for the number of schools being newly built or reconstructed and we on this side of the House would raise no objection to providing the money for this purpose.

Subhead D provides for the furnishing requirements of all Government Departments. Costs of furniture generally have risen. A lot of costs have gone up and we know why. We know that wages have increased. However, I should like to compliment the Office of Public Works on their good taste in the furniture they buy. They deserve credit for the way in which they plan and furnish these offices, including the rooms in Leinster House and the various Government Departments.

There is reference here to parks and harbours and that always brings the name of a certain place to my mind which I shall not mention to the Parliamentary Secretary. I am glad his Office are active there after all these years. We are prepared to give the Parliamentary Secretary his Estimate.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

I should like to take this opportunity of paying a tribute to the Parliamentary Secretary. I do not wonder that he looks at me because it is probably something he was not expecting to hear. I believe that if a man is deserving of a clap on the back, he should get it. May I say to him that particularly in the past 12 months I have noticed a higher degree of courtesy from him than I have experienced previously? Furthermore, I admire the courage with which he is tackling many of the problems of his Department. I have very clear evidence of a high degree of progress in the Office of Public Works. If there is a high degree of progress in a Department, it cannot be without the knowledge of the Minister. From the volume of work I see undertaken by the Office of Public Works, I believe there must be a certain amount of drive from the Parliamentary Secretary. I want to express my appreciation of that and I feel this is the place to do so. I have over a long period been extremely critical of the manner in which the Parliamentary Secretary dealt with many problems, many of them affecting my own constituency. May I say that on this Supplementary Estimate I have no axe to grind? As Deputy Lynch has pointed out from this side of the House, I believe the Parliamentary Secretary has done as much as it is humanly possible for him to do.

I want to express for the record my appreciation of the observations he has just made that Government offices, instead of being heated by coal, will in future be heated by turf. That is something I welcome very much. Turf is our native fuel. The constituency I represent is probably the greatest turf-producing area in Ireland. I am glad to note that the Government are now taking steps to see that turf will be used for the heating of all Government buildings, including Leinster House. I want to tell Deputies I am absolutely convinced that when turf is used here there will be no grounds in future for complaints about the heating of this House.

The best fuel we have for heating in Ireland today is turf. That is why I am glad steps are being taken to use as much native fuel as possible. Our bogs can be developed, giving employment to our workers and cutting down on imports of foreign fuel. I have always maintained that we have as good fuel from our bogs as we ever got from the coal mines abroad. I hope an effort will also be made to use as much Irish anthracite as possible. Some of the coal production areas are in my constituency and considerable employment is given there. Between Laois and Kilkenny, we can produce as good as can be produced in Britain or anywhere else. I do not know why we Irish are bashful in boasting about what we can produce ourselves. In the line of fuel, we can produce the best in the world. I welcome this step and I believe our native fuel will be more successful than any heating medium tried in Government offices previously. Our fuel is the best in the world.

Mr. Dolan

The Deputy does not agree with Deputy Dillon, so?

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

I represent a constituency that produces the best turf in Ireland. I know the great source of wealth that lies in our bogs. All our briquettes are produced in my constituency also, and there is no British coal but would have to take second place to them. I appreciate the action of the Parliamentary Secretary and his Department in introducing this system of heating, and I assure him he has my active co-operation in the matter.

A vast amount of work remains to be done in regard to national schools. In some of our national schools, over 80 children are crammed into unhealthy classrooms. In some of them, the sanitary conditions are a disgrace and the accommodation for recreation not worthy of comment. In many of our schools the cloakroom facilities and the facilities for the children to take lunch in bad weather are to be deplored. Any money the Parliamentary Secretary asks for in this connection will gladly be given. I appreciate the improvements that have been undertaken in many national schools in my constituency and throughout the country.

The target which the Parliamentary Secretary has set himself in this Estimate could be extended. I wonder if he would furnish Deputies of all Parties—not his own Party alone— with details of what he has in mind for the various schools in the different counties? It has come to my notice that there are a number of schools in my constituency with which the Parliamentary Secretary's Department and the Department of Education have been dealing for a number of years, but because the school managers are not throwing their weight behind them, nothing is being done. That is why I wondered whether the Parliamentary Secretary is considering taking suitable action in the interests of the children to see that proper schools are provided for them and that in areas where he is not getting co-operation from the school managers, the necessary steps will be taken to see that the children are provided with schools properly heated and ventilated and with classrooms that are not overcrowded.

I have known schools a person would be afraid to enter. I have visited schools in the midlands that are entirely unsuitable. There is one school at Clonaghadoo, Mountmellick which has been under the notice of the county medical officer for a long time and in respect of which strong representations were made to have it condemned as unfit. The Parliamentary Secretary's Department has recommended that a new school be provided there. For some reason, the school manager is deliberately putting the matter on the long finger and refusing to co-operate with the Office of Public Works and the Department of Education. It is wrong to have children attending a school coming under the notice of the county medical officer as unfit for human habitation. There is no proper water for the children to drink, the sewerage and toilet facilities are a disgrace and the stench from the school is alarming.

An Ceann Comhairle

This does not come under the Parliamentary Secretary's Department.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

It does. He is providing money for a national school. The money he is asking for will be money well spent, but my point is that he is not looking for enough. Where he is not getting co-operation in the matter of school building, he should advise those people that, unless co-operation is forthcoming, he will take other steps. Our children must be provided with good schools. It is not in the national interest that co-operation in this regard should not be forthcoming.

I should like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether he has given any consideration to the Protestant community in relation to the financing of school building.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Parliamentary Secretary acts as agent for the Minister for Education; so he has nothing whatever to do with what the Deputy is referring to at the moment.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary would consider providing more money for Protestant schools, in view of the fact that they are so limited.

An Ceann Comhairle

I cannot allow the Deputy to pursue that line. The Parliamentary Secretary has nothing whatever to do with it. He is the agent of the Department of Education. He does the work that is specified for him by the Department of Education in respect of school buildings.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

I agree that that is so. I feel that the school building programme can be accelerated if there is a measure of support from the various school managers.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy must find some other means of ventilating that grievance. He cannot ventilate it with the Parliamentary Secretary. He has no function in the matter.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

I shall not pursue that point on this occasion but the Parliamentary Secretary knows what I have in mind and he may be sympathetic in his allocation of money for the schools to which I have referred. I am most anxious that something should be done and this is the only occasion we have of giving the Parliamentary Secretary money for this purpose and, as he is the agent for the Department of Education in this matter, I presume that he applies for the money and the Department of Education spends the money, and that he has no say as to the schools on which the money will be spent. I presume that is the position. Is that so?

Mr. O'Malley

To a great extent.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

It is true that the Parliamentary Secretary has no say as to the schools on which the money we vote is to be spent. However, I shall ventilate my grievance in this regard on the Vote for the Department of Education.

An Ceann Comhairle

I have no doubt.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

It is no harm that the Minister for Education and the Parliamentary Secretary should be forewarned as to the points I propose to raise.

I agree with Deputy T. Lynch that it is a good thing that suitable provision is being made for adequate headquarters for the Irish Red Cross Society. This is a society which commends itself greatly to our people. The Irish Red Cross Society deserves a headquarters which will be a credit to the country and to the generosity of our people.

Reference has been made to the furnishing of Government offices. On the whole, the furnishing of Government offices is reasonably good. I do not know what the procedure is, whether the furniture has to be requisitioned by the offices concerned or whether the Office of Public Works inspects the furniture in the various Departments. I have occasion to frequent the Land Commission Office and the Valuation Office. In the Valuation Office there are tables which must be 200 years old. The officials in the Valuation Office should be provided with suitable desks. There are four or five senior officers in the main office. There is no privacy. The chairs must be as old as the tables.

An Ceann Comhairle

They must be very valuable.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

They are either very valuable or no good at all. The tables could not be described as antiques but they are old and shabby. I should like to see suitable desks provided in which there would be drawers, and lockers in which the officers could keep files. Suitable seats should be provided. The accommodation provided for the public is most unsuitable, as also is the furniture in the hall. Furniture which is out of date and useless should be put out of sight of the public.

The furnishing of Government offices is an expensive item but officials should be provided with proper equipment and facilities for the carrying out of their work. The money provided in the Estimate for that purpose is money well spent. I hope the Office of Public Works will undertake a survey of Government offices and will replace useless and unsuitable furniture.

A good deal of work is carried out by the Office of Public Works in regard to the provision of parks. In this connection, I presume the Parliamentary Secretary is acting as the agent of the Department of Local Government. Most towns should be provided with suitable parks for children and such parks should be equipped with the usual amenities for amusement. We read of many fatal accidents involving young children on the roads and on the streets. An effort should be made to provide suitable parks for children in towns.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is that provided for in this Estimate? This is a Supplementary Estimate.

Mr. O'Malley

The parks covered by the Estimate are the Bourn Vincent Park, St. Stephen's Green, the Phoenix Park and Garnish. These are the only four over which we have jurisdiction. A park in a town or city is provided by the local authority, with the assistance of a grant from the Department of Local Government.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is there money in this Estimate for parks?

Mr. O'Malley

Under Subhead C— general maintenance of properties all over the country, as well as parks and harbours.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

Our city parks are very well looked after. That is greatly appreciated by the people of Dublin.

Mr. P.J. Burke

It is the good members of Dublin Corporation who are responsible for that.

Mr. T. Lynch

They have nothing to do with these parks. These are parks which come under the Office of Public Works.

An Ceann Comhairle

I should like to know if this has anything to do with this Estimate.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

It think it has. It comes under Subhead C.

An Ceann Comhairle

What parks are under Subhead C? I want to spare the Deputy speaking in respect of something the Parliamentary Secretary has nothing to do with in respect of this Estimate. That is what I want to avoid.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

I think you are right there, a Cheann Comhairle. However, the work that has been and is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works is most satisfactory and I am glad that the necessary provision for the continuance of that work is being made in this Estimate. I want to assure the Chair and the Parliamentary Secretary that I have no complaint to make in regard to the Office of Public Works. I only hope that the efficiency and the service of which I have had experience over the past year will continue. If it does, I hope next year to be able to pay the Parliamentary Secretary even greater tribute than I have pleasure in paying him tonight.

Mr. Sherwin

When the House discussed the installation of an amplification system in the Dáil last year, it was also agreed, I thought, that some sort of closed television circuit would be provided.

An Ceann Comhairle

There is no money in this Estimate for that.

Mr. Sherwin

I am talking about the furnishings of the House.

An Ceann Comhairle

There is no money in this Estimate in respect of that.

Mr. Sherwin

I thought when the last Deputy was speaking about furnishing in general, I could include this item.

An Ceann Comhairle

Furnishings and amplification are two different matters.

Mr. Sherwin

I do not know. The Parliamentary Secretary is responsible for the furnishing of Government property.

An Ceann Comhairle

There is no money in this Estimate for amplification.

Mr. Sherwin

We have amplification. I was referring to the decision to televise the discussions and the subject under discussion.

An Ceann Comhairle

There is no money in this Estimate for amplification and it is wasting breath to be speaking about something for which there is no money.

Mr. Sherwin

Then the last speaker wasted a lot of breath.

Mr. O'Malley

I should like to thank the speakers for the manner in which they received the Estimate and to assure them that anything that can be done to solve the problem of wiping out the evils of the slums of some of our schools will be done. I should like to thank the Deputies for the kind remarks they have made about me and my officers. Any suggestions or policy laid down by me could not be put into operation or implemented without a careful and expert staff. The Office of Public Works is a much maligned body but I am convinced that we have some of the most efficient members of the Civil Service attached to it.

I have not received a specific complaint that the staff over in Kildare Street are actually working under unsatisfactory conditions but I do agree that conditions could be improved. The new National Library is to be built at Morehampton Road and will solve the problem in connection with both books and staff. However, I shall look into the point raised by Deputy Lynch.

Reference was also made by Deputy Lynch to the prefabricated or system-built type of school which we are investigating. The sample which Deputy Lynch saw on television was a classroom plus unit combined. It was not a complete school. There is at the moment a prototype school under construction in County Dublin and when it is completed, I hope to invite all Deputies to visit it and give their opinions on it. It will be a very useful experiment. One of the main considerations is that it should be aesthetically suitable. Nothing could be worse than to dot rural Ireland with buildings that would not blend in with their surroundings. I think Deputies will be satisfied with what will be produced.

There is no question of these being temporary buildings. They will be just as good in 50 or 60 years' time, even though we may have completely new schools by then. There is nothing temporary in their appearance, finish or design. We have already raised the standard of our schools and the number of square feet per pupil in our national schools and that standard will be incorporated in the new design. We are spending this year on schools more money than has ever been spent in the history of the State. Everyone would like to see the amount increased and the number of schools being built stepped up but I think that this time next year we shall be able to report a substantial increase.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

Would the Parliamentary Secretary be prepared to impress on the Minister for Education that some reasonable portion of that financial assistance should be given to the Protestant community?

Mr. O'Malley

I shall convey that to the Minister. On the question of sites, the Office of Public Works are called on to advise on the site when the school manager has selected it. If such a site is not suitable, we see to it that the Minister will not make the necessary funds available. I do agree that there are areas in Ireland today crying out for schools and, in certain instances, due to the lack of co-operation, I am sorry to say, by the managers, these schools are not being built. These managers are not carrying out their duty to the State and to the community. There is lethargy and apathy. I do not know how we can improve that position. It may be possible that when regulations are made under the new Planning and Development Act, provision will be made for schools and playgrounds. No such provision was made in some of the housing estates of the past. Latterly, a more enlightened approach has been adopted by local authorities but in some cases no cognisance has been taken by the local authority of the needs in their localities, with the result that we have vast housing areas built up and no sites available for schools.

There is now a more enlightened policy and local authorities are ensuring that sites for schools be provided in future housing estates. There are isolated instances in the country where the necessary sites are not being provided by the school manager and it is difficult to see what can be done in such cases, except to enlist the co-operation of members of the House and of local authorities. When my Estimate comes around, I may furnish Deputies with a list of areas in the country which are in need of schools. That might enable them to use their good offices with the local managers if they are not carrying out their work.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

That is a good idea.

Mr. O'Malley

It is true that there are cases of overcrowding. From time to time statements appear in the newspapers that such and such a school is grossly overcrowded. The moment I read such statements I kick up a row in my office and ask the reason. However, I have not yet found any ground for criticism of my officials because, in the main, the managers have been at fault.

There was a case of overcrowding recently in Dublin which got a certain amount of publicity. On investigation, it was found that a large number of children were coming in from an outside area and this was not envisaged when the school was designed. Actually, there are certain proposals before the manager in question and the sooner he accepts them the sooner the work can proceed. The money is there and the co-operation and it is up to this manager and managers of other schools to co-operate in solving the problem.

I do not object to criticism, which I think is a useful spur to Ministers and holders of other offices, when it is constructive but before it appears in the papers, we would welcome communication from the various newspapers and we shall give them the information. They can come to the Office of Public Works at any time and if we are at fault, they can criticise us, but before they write, in fairness to the public and all concerned, they should get the true picture. We will make available to them information from our files so that they can write a factual account of the position as they find it. We do not mind criticism after that.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

Will the Parliamentary Secretary make an effort to have as much turf as possible brought from Offaly?

Mr. T. Lynch

There are other places.

Mr. O'Malley

Furniture for Government offices was mentioned. We act very quickly when we get a request from Government offices. For instance, in Subhead D. the Revenue Commissioners in connection with PAYE, required furniture and some £10,000 is included in this subhead for the purpose of supplying modern office equipment. Some £3,000 worth of furniture is being provided for the Department of Agriculture for new local offices for the bovine TB eradication scheme and there is provision for additional examination equipment for the Department of Education for an expected increase of about 750 in the number of examination candidates. A great deal of furniture in Government Departments is fairly old and there is a growing tendency to weed that out in favour of more modern equipment. I shall look into the point mentioned by Deputy Flanagan.

Mr. O.J. Flanagan

Thank you very much.

Mr. O'Malley

The only other point mentioned was on Subhead C., Parks. I should have made clear at the outset that the parks mentioned are the only parks for which the Office of Public Works has responsibility, the Bourn Vincent Park, Garnish, Phoenix Park and St. Stephen's Green. I have seen letters to the papers and very interesting articles written about these parks in Dublin. So far as Phoenix Park and St. Stephen's Green are concerned, I can assure the House that no building whatever in any form will be erected in any of these parks. It is not contemplated and certainly there will be no proposals from the Government in any way to despoil any of them. They are there for the public but if the precedent of putting even a small building on them were created, it would be very dangerous and would make it very hard to resist further demands. The Government have not the slightest intention of locating any building, concert hall or anything else in these areas. I should again like to thank Deputies for the manner in which they have received this Vote.

Vote put and agreed to.