The net amount sought for Vote 9—Public Works and Buildings—for 1978 is £36,173,000 which is over 36 per cent greater than the total amount voted for this purpose in 1977. The increase arises mainly in the areas of building and construction and arterial drainage where a major increase in activity is expected in 1978. This is in keeping with the Government commitment to boosting employment prospects. I will now comment on the various subheads that make up the Estimate.
Subheads A1, A2, B1, B2 and C cover the administrative expenses of the Office of Public Works.
Subhead D, which provides for the purchase of sites and buildings, shows a big increase over last year's provision. This arises in the main from proposals to purchase a number of premises and sites in Dublin and elsewhere in the country. The necessary negotiations are in train.
The Commissioners of Public Works are continuing with their programme of creation and extension of national parks in selected areas internationally famous for their outstanding scenic, scientific and recreational values. The four areas which have been chosen are: Killarney, The Burren in County Clare, Connemara and Glenveagh in County Donegal.
The purpose of this parks programme is the conservation of outstanding natural environmental assets and the provision of leisure time amenities for our own citizens and for visitors from abroad. Progress hinges on the acquisition of lands and in this connection it is necessary again to express appreciation of the co-operation and understanding which the commissioners have received from the various landowners contacted in the course of negotiations for purchase.
In 1977 Killarney National Park was enlarged by the acquisition of over 500 acres of adjoining lands, including about 40 islands in Lough Leane. A further 200 acres are now being acquired and negotiations are proceeding for some other lands in the vicinity of the lakes.
Acquisition by the State is vital if an integral area of the Killarney Valley, which is scenically and scientifically of very great importance, is to be preserved for the enjoyment and education of this and future generations of our people.
In Connemara the 2,500 acres which were acquired in the Kylemore-Letter-frack area now forms the nucleus of Connemara National Park. Park staff have been appointed and are at present engaged in development work to which reference will be made under another subhead. Negotiations continue for the purchase of suitable adjoining lands and also for an area of bogland and lakes north-east of Roundstone. This merits conservation because of its great scenic charm, its wealth of rare plants, particularly heathers, and the islands in the numerous small lakes which have a distinctive woodland vegetation.
A small area of land has been acquired in the Mullaghmore area of the Burren as a first step in the setting up of a national park there. At present over 1,000 acres are in the process of being acquired while negotiations proceed for several adjoining plots.
In Glenveagh where 25,000 acres were acquired in 1975 development work is in progress and will be referred to under another subhead.
Subhead E is the subhead which bears the cost of the major portion of the Office of Public Work's involvement in the building of new and improved accommodation for various Government Departments and improved facilities for the services which they administer. Again, this programme has been expanded where possible and extra moneys provided which will ensure more employment in the industry. The total amount being made available this year for these works is £9,003,000.
A list of all the works on which expenditure will be incurred in the current year has been supplied to Deputies. I will comment on the more significant or interesting items.
Item 1: The heating system at Áras an Uachtaráin has reached the end of its useful life and is due to be replaced.
Items 3 and 5: The work of refurbishing the south block of Government Buildings is complete and the provision is for settlement of outstanding accounts. Some works have already been carried out in the north block and the main scheme will commence later this year.
Item 6: This provision relates to a project to improve facilities at the main landing place on Clare Island to facilitate transport and communication with the mainland. Some works have already been done but delay has been experienced arising from a contractual dispute. The development and improvement of landing places as at Clare Island, at inhabited islands off the west coast is an important contribution to ameliorating the living conditions of their populations and the Government continues to regard this as a priority task.
Items 7 and 8: The adaptation of the additional accommodation for some of the State Laboratory staff at the former St. Vincent's Hospital has been completed.
Planning of a new State Laboratory building at Abbotstown is proceeding well and it is expected that tenders will be invited this year.
Item 9: Premises have been acquired to replace the existing Stationery Office stores and offices which are totally inadequate and unsuitable. It is hoped to commence work on fitting out these new premises towards the end of this year.
Item 14: This provision is for the refurbishing of 14-16 Lord Edward Sreet, Dublin, which was built as a labour exchange about 60 years ago and requires a major overhaul to bring it up to modern office standards.
Items 15-20: The customs post at Clones has been completed. The additional area acquired at Dundalk Customs Road station has been hardcored to accommodate container traffic. A contract has been placed and work is in progress for the provision of a new frontier post at Carrigans, County Donegal.
Item 21: £20,000 is being provided for works at St. Enda's Rathfarnham. The first phase of the internal rehabilitation of the building has been virtually completed and planning of the second phase, which will include the laying out of the premises as a Pearse Museum, has commenced.
Item 22: Work is practically completed on the provision of a natural history exhibition centre and of an office and store for use in connection with maintenance of the park.
Item 23: Touring the Lakes of Killarney by jaunting car is a long-established tradition and one of the major attractions on the traditional route is Muckross House. In order to improve parking conditions for the jaunting cars and to provide some basic facilities for the jarveys at Muckross, it is proposed to construct a new jaunting car park and jarvey shelter a short distance from the house at a cost of approximately £12,000.
Item 24: Knockreer House, Killarney, is in my view, ideally situated for use as a Biological Research and Field Studies Centre related to Killarney National Park and the commissioners have been in consultation with the Department of Education on this issue. I hope that the necessary arrangements will be quickly finalised to enable planning of the adaptation work to be under-taken in the current year.
Item 25: A contract was placed last year for the construction of a new visitors' waiting centre and caretaker's cottage at Gearhameen at the entrance to the Upper Lake, Killarney. The work is now almost complete and the new facilities will be available to visitors this year.
Item 26: The installation of the new water supply system at Muckross House, Killarney, is virtually completed. The placing of the contract for the sewerage scheme had to be deferred to allow for further investigation as to the type of sewage treatment which will be necessary to meet the high standards required here from the amenities and environmental points of view. The type of treatment plant to be installed will be dependent on the result of this investigation. It is hoped, however, to invite tenders for the contract this year.
Item 27: As was announced at the introduction of last year's Estimate, it has been decided to improve and expand the interpretative and educational aspects of Muckross House so that visitors to the National Park may derive the greatest possible benefit from their visits. Work is proceeding on the planning of the first phase of the project.
Item 28: Some years ago a new section of roadway within the Muckross Demesne was constructed for the exclusive use of jaunting cars returning to Killarney after visiting Muckross House. The purpose of the new road is to provide a more scenic return route within the park and incidentally to ease traffic congestion on the public road. It is now proposed to extend the new roadway further, and a sum of £8,000 has been allocated for this purpose.
Item 29: A provision of £14,000 has been made to clear the amount outstanding in respect of the restoration of the east wing of Kilkenny Castle. Since it was opened to the public in August 1976 over 65,000 people have visited the castle.
Item 31: A provision of £25,000 has been made for the provision of improved facilities for the public near the Knockmaroon Gate, Phoenix Park. The original intention was simply to provide toilets and a car park but it has now been decided to incorporate a small information office and the consequent replanning is in hands. I hope that tenders will be invited later this year.
Item 32: The new visitor centre at Dunmore Cave, County Kilkenny has been opened since summer 1976 but a provision of £5,000 is required to meet some outstanding accounts. In the 18 months to the end of December 1977 over 15,000 people had visited the caves. With the excellent access and interpretation facilities that have been provided, the general public can now inspect and understand these interesting caves with relative ease. I feel that when these facilities are better known a still greater number of people will visit the caves.
Items 33-34: Work began last year on the construction of a new stretch of roadway at the main access point to Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, and a sum of £60,000 has been allocated from the current year's Estimate to provide for the continuation of this work. The commissioners also expect work to begin during the year on the development of other visitor facilities in the park. Public access to the park will continue to be curtailed until these works have been completed.
Item 35: A sum of £10,000 has been provided to enable preliminary development would to continue at Connemara National Park. Some work has already been carried out on the provision of a park office and future works will include the provision of a new access road, car parking and visitor reception facilities near Letter-frack.
Items 38-52: The popularity of the Shannon waterway continues to grow and this valuable national recreational resource is now playing an increasingly important role in the attraction of tourists to Ireland. This year a sum of £150,000 has been allocated for the provision of additional berthing and harbour facilities at popular centres on the river.
Included in the programme is the construction of a major new harbour at Portumna which should be completed towards the end of the current year. I hope to reopen for navigation later this year the stretch of the Lough Allen Canal from Battlebridge to Acres Lough. This canal was navigable as far as Lough Allen up to 1936 when, as a result of the development of the storage basin in Lough Allen for power purposes, a dam was built across the canal. The restoration will provide an additional four miles of attractive and safe waterway.
Item 53: Improved visitor facilities are being planned at Clonmacnoise National Monument. These will operate in conjunction with a new jetty to improve accessibility to the monument from the Shannon. Negotiations for the purchase of the necessary land are in progress and a provsion of £21,000 is being made to start the works.
Items 55 and 56: Work on the erection of a new building at Inchicore to accommodate staff of the Central Data Processing Services section of the Department of the Public Service is at an advanced stage and the building is expected to be ready for occupation in August. Tenders are being considered for the provision of a standby generator to ensure that the computer centre can continue to operate in the event of a power failure.
Item 59: Contract documents for improvements to the Film Censor's office are being prepared.
Items 60-65: The provision under the heading of the Department of Justice amounts to £1,256,000. The bulk of this provision is in respect of the erection of new Garda stations and major improvements to existing Garda accommodation. A good many of the substandard small stations have been replaced and extensions to a number of stations, especially in the Border areas, have been completed.
Work was completed at 20 centres last year including a new district headquarters at Newcastlewest and a metropolitan station at Swords on the site of the old station. Contracts are in progress at 24 centres, including new district headquarters at Castlerea, Castleblayney, and Kanturk and major improvements at Finglas and Portlaoise. Projects have reached contract stage in seven cases and planning of a number of others is in hands. Among the larger projects in planning are new divisional headquarters at Monaghan and Tralee and new district head-quarters at Boyle, Manorhamilton, Carrick-on-Shannon, Kildare, Killaloe and Mallow and major improvements to Dundalk Garda station. New metropolitan stations at Irishtown and Terenure and extensions to a number of suburban stations are planned. The improvement of facilities at the Templemore Training Centre is also proposed. Last year additional prefabricated buildings were provided at this centre to cater for the larger intake of recruits.
Planning of a new building on the site of the former Four Courts Hotel is proceeding.
Item 68: Part of the premises at 2-3 Kildare Street is being used by the National Library. Planning is proceeding for the adaptation of the remainder to provide additional accommodation for the library.
Item 70: Additional accommodation is being provided for the National Museum in a rented block at Merrion Row. The office area has been completed. The particular requirements of the museum authorities for special display accommodation necessitated the engagement by the Office of Public Works of a specialist firm who are at present handling this aspect in consultation with the museum authorities. When the arrangements are satisfactorily finalised it will be possible to complete the project in a short space of time.
Item 73: The new accommodation at Abbotstown Farm for the scientific and research staff of the Fisheries Division is nearing completion.
Item 74: This item relates to a proposal to extend the Fisheries Field Research Station at Dunmore East. The development of the fishing industry requires that a network of adequately equipped fishery research stations be provided around the coastline.
Item 75: Tenders received for the erection of new offices at Furbo for staff of the Department of the Gaeltacht are under consideration.
Items 76-101: We now come to works for the Department of Agriculture for which a total of £404,000 has been provided. The items include new buildings, alterations and additions to existing buildings at various agricultural centres and improved accommodation at the Botanic Gardens, including a new library and herbarium, to provide research facilities for students. The following is some additional information on particular items.
Items 77-78: Detailed planning for the provision of new buildings at the Botanic Gardens is proceeding. A contract has been placed for the erection of a new staff and student canteen and work is nearing completion.
Items 80-86: A total of £79,000 has been provided for works at Abbotstown Farm. The provision of a milking parlour, incinerator and field station manager's residence has been completed. A contract has been placed for the erection of loose box accommodation and work is in progress. Tenders will shortly be invited for the provision of a new grain storage complex and a new butter and seed testing station is also proposed.
Item 89: Work is in progress on the extension to the brucellosis laboratory at Thorndale, Dublin.
Item 93: The contract for the erection of a new district veterinary office at Raphoe, County Donegal, is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Items 95-96: Work will commence this year on the provision of a field and domestic water supply system and new student accommodation at Ballyhaise Agricultural College, County Cavan.
Items 104-107: Work is well advanced on the erection of a new training school and synoptic reporting station for the Meteoroligical Service of the Department of Tourism and Transport at Murrough, Galway, and the erection of a new meteorological station at Claremorris, County Mayo. A new meteorological station is planned for Johnstown Castle, County Wexford, and an extension to the coast radio station at Valentia is also proposed.
Items 108-149: A sum of £666,000 is required for works for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. Work is well advanced on the erection of a new post office in Clonmel. Improvements to the post office in Ballyhaunis, Athy and Enniscorthy are being carried out and tenders have been received for the modernisation of Roscommon Post Office. Contracts should shortly be placed for the erection of new post offices at Shannon and Tipperary and the preparation of contract documents for new post office buildings at Mullingar and Longford is nearing completion. New post offices at Fermoy, Navan and Wexford and improvements to the post offices at Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Thurles and Waterford are also proposed. The adaptation of a former school at Ballinlough, Cork, for use as a sorting office is nearing completion.
Additional sorting office accommodation in Dublin is planned. New area engineering headquarters are proposed for various centres.
In addition to the schemes covered by this Estimate the Office of Public Works will carry out works in connection with the telephone services at an estimated cost of £4.5 million which will be met from the Telephone Capital Account.
Items 154-171: An amount of £270,000 is provided for embassy buildings abroad. Fitting out has been completed at the chanceries in Berne and Bonn. Fitting out of the embassies at Cairo, Jeddah and Teheran is in progress. Fitting out of a residence in Vienna and a chancery in Athens is also in hands.
Improvements have been completed at the Bonn residence, the London Embassy and the Consulate General in New York. Improvements to the residence in Ottawa and the erection of a new chancery in Canberra will be undertaken this year.
Item 173: It is hoped to commence the erection this year of an employment exchange at Manorhamilton, County Leitrim. The work will be undertaken in conjunction with the erection of new Garda buildings.
Item 175: It is expected that contract documents for the new employment exchange in Dún Laoghaire will be completed by mid-summer and that tenders will be invited shortly after.
Item 181: I am pleased to be able to say that this year will see the completion of a number of office buildings designed and erected by the State, namely, stage I of the new Garda Síochána headquarters at the Phoenix Park, a new headquarters for the Meterological Service at Glasnevin and two other office buildings, one at Earlsfort Terrace for the engineering staff of my own office and another office building at Shelbourne Road.
A tender has recently been accepted for the erection of a building at the former Beggars Bush Barracks to house the Geological Survey Office and the Labour Court. Tenders will be invited shortly for the rehabilitation of houses 14-16 Upper Merrion Street.
Planning for the redevelopment of the former St. Vincents Hospital property at the rear of 93-99 Lower Leeson Street is at an advanced stage and I expect tenders will be invited towards the end of the year. It is hoped to commence construction work on the next stage of the new Garda headquarters building in the near future.
Planning for the redevelopment of for the Department of Defence and a headquarters for the Dublin Metropolitan Garda is making good progress.
Tenders have been received for the erection of new Government offices at Mullingar. Preliminary site works in connection with the new Government offices at Waterford are now in progress. Work on construction of the new building there is expected to commence during the current year. Planning is proceeding for new Government offices in Athlone, Cork, Carrick-on-Shannon, Thurles, Portlaoise and Kilkenny. Preliminary planning has commenced for offices in other provincial centres. Cognisance is taken of all environmental and conservationist matters in the planning of these developments.
Item 182: Provision is made here for the cost of fitting out office premises, principally rented accommodation, for occupation by staffs of various Government Departments. It covers the erection of partitions, the supply of furniture, light fittings and so on.
Item 183: Tenders for the conversion of the Great Hall and ancillary accommodation in the UCD premises at Earlsfort Terrace into a concert hall have been received and I hope to be able to announce the placing of a contract in the very near future. The work will take approximately two-and-a-half years to complete.
Arrangements to vacate the areas required are in train.
Item 184: Planning for the restoration of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham is at an advanced stage. The planning is a slow and painstaking exercise and it is difficult to say precisely when it will be completed. However, it is hoped to invite tenders for the restoration work by the end of the year. This will be a large and complex project involving careful restoration and the work will extend over a period of years.
Subhead F.1 provides for the maintenance of State-owned property, which includes such varied items as Government offices, Garda stations, post offices, agricultural institutions, embassies abroad and State harbours.
The subhead also provides for the maintenance of the various parks managed by the Commissioners of Public Works. I have dealt above, under subhead D, with the programme which is in hands for the setting up of National Parks in Donegal, Connemara and the Burren, County Clare, and for the enlargement of the National Park in Killarney.
In keeping with world-wide trends our existing parks are proving to be increasingly popular with our own people and with visitors from abroad. In the main, admission to these parks is free of charge and, accordingly, no overall statistics of the number of visitors are available. A charge is of course made for admission to Garnish Island and there was an increase of 16 per cent in the number of visitors in 1977 over the previous year. In the case of Derrynane and Kilkenny, admission to the parks is free but there is a charge in respect of admission to the buildings and in these cases too the receipts indicate an increased number of visitors.
Increased usage of parks does of course create problems. The growing volume of motor car traffic in the Phoenix Park is a serious and pressing problem, not only because it detracts from the enjoyment of the amenities of the park by the general public but also because of the rising accident rate which is likely to follow from an increased volume of traffic unless restrictive measures are taken.
In recent years speed limits have been introduced in the park and traffic lights installed at two of the entrance gates. I am sure that Deputies will agree that traffic lights, signs, road-markings and so on are inappropriate to a public park and that we should endeavour to prevent the proliferation in the Phoenix Park of such trappings of an urban environment.
I have asked that a comprehensive study be made of the problem and I propose shortly to invite representatives of the local authorities and of the Garda to a discussion in the matter. I hope that some proposals will emerge which will help to reconcile to some extent the preservation of the amenities of the Phoenix Park with a solution to the traffic problem.
Subhead F2 provides for the supply of replacement furniture and of additional items required for existing State buildings.
Subhead F3, which provides for rents, shows an increased rate of expenditure over that of the previous period arising from (a) the leasing of new premises to accommodate additional staff and to replace old premises which had become unsuitable and (b) to meet the cost of enhanced rents arising from renewals of some leases and from review of provisions in current leases. Staffs to be accommodated in newly leased buildings include those of the Departments of Justice. Social Welfare, Defence and the Revenue Commissioners.
Subhead F4 bears the cost of fuel and light for all Government offices. The increased provision is due mainly to the cost of heating and lighting additional accommodation as well as increases in the cost of fuel.
The cost of compensation and so on, arising from damage to the property of external Governments, such as the cost of the reconstruction of the former British Embassy premises, is borne by the subhead F5 and the subhead is being retained by a token provision to enable some outstanding items to be dealt with. Plans are being prepared for the reconstruction of Waterford courthouse under subhead F6.
The subheads G1 to G4 provide for expenditure in connection with arterial drainage which is being carried out under the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945. It is hoped that EEC funds will become available in the year ahead for drainage construction works in the western region of the country under a Commission proposal at present being considered. This would lead to the expansion and quicker development of schemes provided that sufficient engineering staff can be recruited.
Subhead G1 provides for the carrying out of certain hydrometric studies and of comprehensive drainage surveys which are a necessary preliminary of arterial drainage schemes. For this £97,000 is requested; last year's provision was £91,000. As in the case of previous years most of the provision is needed to continue hydrometric investigations; the £11,000 included for catchment surveys provides for cost-benefit studies of the Boyne and Bonet schemes which are now in progress.
In subhead G2 the provision this year for drainage works, namely, £4,318,000, is an increase of £1,418,000 over last year's provision. Operations on the Boyne and Maigue schemes will be continued and I now expect the Corrib-Mask-Robe scheme to commence during the summer. Because of unforeseen delays in completing the statutory requirements it was not possible to commence works earlier.
Subhead G3 which provides for the maintenance of completed drainage schemes and embankment works, will require a total of £1,393,000, an increase of £297,000 over last year's provision. The increase in expenditure under this heading is attributable to increased wages and other costs. As statutorily provided the cost of maintenance is recoverable from the county councils concerned.
A provision of £1,000 is included in subhead G4 for the acquisition of lands under the District of Fergus Drainage Act, 1943. In subhead H a total of £1,132,000 is required for the purchase and maintenance of engineering plant and machinery, mainly for arterial drainage work, the purchase of stores and the payment of wages to the staff of the Central Engineering Workshop. New engineering plant will be necessary in order to implement the expanded drainage programme.
Subhead I bears the cost of the construction and maintenance of coast protection schemes. The amount of £88,000 is being provided to maintain six coast protection schemes and continue operations on the construction of sea defences at Inishcrone, County Sligo. An interesting feature of the Inishcrone project, which is progressing satisfactorily, is the joint approach by the commissioners and the Sligo County Council to the provision of sea defences and local amenities in a single engineering undertaking. The cost of engineering investigations of applications by local authorities to the commissioners for protection schemes is also provided for in this subhead.
The amount of £890,000 is being provided for the national monuments service under subhead J.1, to increase slightly the present levels of conservation activity and of archaeological research. Major works will be in progress this year at Ferns Castle, County Wexford, Portumna Castle, County Galway, the Casino in Marino, County Dublin, Ross Castle, County Kerry, Kells Priory, County Kilkenny, Charles Fort and James Fort near Kinsale, County Cork, and at the early monastic settlement at Skellig Michael, County Kerry. Minor works will be carried out to a number of other national monuments.
Grants for archaeological research will be made again this year. Among the sites to be dealt with will be Knowth and the early monastic settlement on Inishcealtra Island, County Clare. The preparation of revised legislation relating to national monuments has been in progress for some time and I hope to have a Bill ready for introduction later this year.
The total cost of the conservation and restoration of Holycross Abbey is borne initially by the grant-in-aid provided by this special subhead, J.2. The cost of the restoration is being refunded by the diocesan authorities. The main works have been completed and the building re-opened for public use for some time now. The provision is required to pay outstanding accounts.
In addition to the works covered by this Vote the Office of Public Works are also responsible for work on primary schools, telephone exchanges, prison buildings and the construction and improvement of harbour works for the Department of Fisheries and Roinn na Gaeltachta. This means that this year the total gross expenditure for which the office will be responsible will be in the region of £64 million.
As can be seen, the activities of the Office of Public Works are varied and widespread. If any Deputy would like further information on any matter which I have mentioned or on any matter which I have omitted to mention and in which the Deputy has a particular interest, I shall try to give it to him in my reply.