Work is nearing completion on a further stage of the Garda Headquarters at the Depot in the Phoenix Park which will house various services including the forensic unit. Also a new building for court staff at Inns Quay on the site of the former Four Courts Hotel is now practically completed and will be occupied on a phased basis over the coming months.
The Office of Public Works continue also to provide and maintain accommodation for embassy staff abroad and during 1986 a new embassy complex was completed and occupied in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The accommodation consists of a chancery and residential accommodation for the ambassador and other essential staff.
The commissioners' conservationist role is reflected in the provisions for the restoration of stonework at the Registry of Deeds and the Custom House. The work of restoring the stonework in the Custom House is progressing well and an improvement can already be noticed in the areas where work is completed. Indeed, I was glad to have the opportunity lately to observe at first hand the work which is being done.
Copies of the new works list have been circulated to Deputies. I have highlighted some of the major building projects being undertaken by the commissioners and do not propose to go through the full list. If any Deputy has a query relating to a particular project I will try to provide the information later.
The rest of Programme 1 is concerned with the routine costs arising on the extensive property portfolio for which the Office is responsible on behalf of the State. Office accommodation accounts for a large part of the total — there are approximately three million square feet of office space in the OPW's care in Dublin alone, but the Office's responsibilities include other buildings such as Garda stations and employment exchanges. Much of the total holding is State-owned but there is also a substantial proportion held on lease, and a sum of £20,049,000 is being sought in the current year to cover rents. The outgoings on maintenance and supplies are estimated at £14,750,000 and fuel and electricity are expected to account for £8,484,000.
Programmes 2 and 4 provide, respectively, for the survey and design, construction and maintenance of arterial drainage and embankment schemes, and the purchase and maintenance of engineering plant, machinery and stores required in connection with these and other engineering services of the Office of Public Works.
A total of £10,520,000 is sought for Programme 2. A sum of £250,000 is required in 1987 under subhead L.1 for survey and design work on four new arterial drainage schemes, viz. the Mulcaire, the Owenmore, the Suir and the Dunkellin and for hydrometric survey work involving the collection and analysis of data on many rivers throughout the country. This survey work is a valuable service providing much useful information on the country's water resources.
On the construction side which is funded by subhead L.2, the reduction by some £3 million in the 1987 provision, compared with last year's outturn, reflects the fact that major schemes on the Boyne, Maigue and Corrib-Mask-Robe rivers have been completed. This year sees the continuation of works on the Boyle, Bonet and Monaghan Blackwater for which a total of £6,770,000 is sought. Deputies will be aware that the Monaghan Blackwater scheme is a practical demonstration of cross Border co-operation, the success of which, I am happy to report, is reflected in the satisfactory progress of the works on both sides of the Border. The commissioners are fully aware that there can be no question of the allocation being exceeded and that all necessary steps must be taken to ensure that budgetary targets for the construction works are met.
The maintenance of completed arterial drainage and embankment schemes is met from subhead L.3 and an amount of £3,500,000 is sought for this service in 1987. This allocation shows a modest increase on the 1986 outturn but, bearing in mind that significant expenditure will be incurred on maintenance of the three recently completed schemes, it will be abundantly clear that there is an overriding necessity to ensure that economies are effected in this service.
Programme 4 provides for the necessary back-up of the arterial drainage and other engineering services undertaken by OPW in terms of purchase of plant and machinery, purchase of stores and payment of staff in the central engineering workshops in Inchicore. These workshops provide a wide range of engineering skills and equipment which are made available, countrywide, to the office's engineering fleet. A total of £1,578,000 is sought for this service in 1987.
Programme 3 covers marine works and a sum of £160,000 is sought to complete new harbour facilities at Roonagh Point, County Mayo, which involve the provision of a landing pier, access road and parking area. These new facilities are an important step towards improving the communications infrastructure for the islands off the west coast as Roonagh is the mainland pier serving Clare Island where improved landing facilities were provided by the commissioners some years ago.
Maintenance of the three State harbours at Howth, Dunmore East and Dun Laoghaire, together with a number of small piers, navigational lights and beacons around our coasts, will require, in 1987, a sum estimated at £1,779,000.
A sum of £173,000 is sought for the ongoing maintenance of coast protection schemes completed by the commissioners pursuant to the Coast Protection Act, 1963, and for the undertaking of a sampling survey of material in offshore banks in connection with the proposed new coast protection scheme for Rosslare Strand. The ongoing task of maintaining the direct sea defences at Rosslare Strand will continue in 1987 in order to prevent damage to valuable property at this important tourist location.
Programme 5 covers the parks and national monuments work of the office. The provision of £3,833,000 sought under subhead G covers the maintenance of national parks, national historic parks and other gardens and properties.
Ireland's national parks are an essential part of our heritage. They are among 3,000 protected areas listed by the UN and although conservation is the overriding objective, the other main aim is to provide visitor facilities in the parks so that the public can appreciate this heritage.
There are three national parks in Ireland which comply with the criteria set down for such parks; these are Killarney, Glenveagh and Connemara. A start has been made on the establishment of a fourth national park in the Burren, County Clare.
Glenveagh National Park was officially opened to the public in July last year and attracted a total of 85,000 visitors. This magnificant park contains a splendid new visitor centre incorporating an audiovisual theatre, a restaurant and exhibition areas. Glenveagh Castle was officially opened to the public in 1986; the refurbishment works are not yet completed and will continue throughout this year.
Killarney, which includes the three famous lakes, was our first national park. It is now well established but further improvements and extensions are made as resources permit. This year I expect to officially open Knockreer House and the interpretive facilities which have been provided there for the public.
There are four parks in the care of the Commissioners of Public Works which comply with the accepted definition of national historic parks. These are Derrynane, St. Enda's, Kilkenny Castle Park and Phoenix Park. In 1986 a management plan for the Phoenix Park was launched. The plan officially designates the park as a national historic park and recognises the importance of its historic buildings and landscape and its value as a centre for both wildlife and recreation. The management objectives are set out in the plan and work is well under way towards achieving those ends. A massive tree planting programme is continuing and will see 20,000 new trees planted by the end of the decade. Further road closures and traffic controls will be implemented.
It is also proposed to restore the park's unique gas lighting system and work will commence this year. Management plans are also being prepared for the other properties under the control of the commissioners.
The third category includes such properties as St. Stephen's Green and Garnish Island and it also covers the cost of maintaining the Glebe Gallery, County Donegal. The world famous artist Derek Hill donated his properly at Churchill, Co. Donegal, and his collection of paintings and other works of art to the State. A gallery was created from one of the outbuildings in order to display the paintings and other objects and works were carried out to the house itself to make it suitable for the public to visit it. The gallery was opened to the public in 1983 and the house will be officially opened in July. This will coincide with the unveiling of an exhibition of the paintings of Derek Hill to celebrate his 70th birthday.
I turn now to the Estimate for the National Monuments Branch for which a provision of £3,551,000 is sought. In this, the European year of the Environment, it is appropriate to say a few words about the contribution which the Office of Public Works make to the conservation and preservation of our built heritage, and which they have been making for over 100 years now. That contribution began when, following the passing of the Irish Church Act of 1869, a number of ancient church properties were vested in the Commissioners of Public Works. Today, there are over 700 national monuments in the direct care of the commissioners and over 2,000 other monuments have been afforded special protection under the National Monuments Acts. In all decades, the amount of work which could be done was limited by available finance and difficult choices had to be made when selecting which of our rich collection of ancient burial mounds, castles, abbeys, churches, round towers and archaeological sites would receive funds for conservation. Much has been done. Much yet needs to be done. At times the task appears daunting but the attitude and expertise which the office have built up over the years gives them the confidence to face the challenge with pride. In the parks and monuments service, conservation is a way of life. The staff are involved in many specialist areas and all are dedicated to the achievement of one goal, namely, the preservation of our historic built heritage. They are the recognised experts in the field of conservation, using old skills and modern, but appropriate, technology and methods to ensure that the monuments which were created by our ancestors, in some cases over 5,000 years ago, will be passed on to future generations to appreciate and admire.
This year, major projects will be carried out at some 30 of our national monuments sites and minor conservation and maintenance works will be carried out at many hundred others by a trained workforce of about 200. Most notable amongst the major projects are the restoration of Cormac's Chapel at the Rock of Cashel, the conservation of grave slabs and the provision of visitor facilities at Clonmacnoise, interpretive exhibitions at Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon and Aughnanure Castle, County Galway. I am pleased to announce that approximately ten acres of amenity land, which will comprise a future park adjoining the Casino, Marino, have been acquired and enclosing works have commenced there preparatory to landscaping the entire site.
I am also very pleased to reiterate the decision announced by the Minister for Finance recently that the Government will provide funds of £1 million over the next four to five years for Kilmainham Jail, to be used for conservation of the fabric of the building and for the provision of improved exhibition and visitor facilities. This year a provision of £200,000 has been designated to enable a start to be made on the programme.
The Office of Public Works, recognising that the most effective tool in the preservation of our monuments is a public well informed of the significance and importance of our antiquities, embarked on a programme some years ago for the provision of interpretive visitor centres at our better known monuments. This continues apace and this year a valuable addition will be made to the 15 sites at which visitor services are already in place. I speak of Glendalough, County Wicklow, where a £1 million development will be completed shortly to provide interpretive facilities consisting of guided tours, exhibition and audiovisual presentation for this very important and popular collection of national monuments. I expect that this centre will be opened to a limited extent to the public later this year and that it will be in full operation in 1988.
I might mention that, exclusive of Kilmainham Jail, the number of visitors who paid admission fees for interpretive service in 1986 was 335,674. Despite the fact that 1986 was recognised as a very poor tourist year, these attendances represented a reduction of only 5 per cent on the previous year and otherwise, were the highest yet recorded this decade. The guide information service helps to promote the attraction of the sites for visitors by highlighting their cultural and educational aspects. The service, which will employ over 50 persons in the current tourist season, is self-financing.
This year post excavation work is being carried out on the artefacts and materials recovered during major archaeological excavation completed at Dublin Castle earlier this year. This years work will be concentrated on researching medieval and post medieval ceramics, analysing botanical remains and interpreting Viking levels. The ceramics include pieces imported from throughout Europe and the Islamic world and the botanical research is revealing information about the diet of the Viking inhabitants. Interestingly, theirs was a high fibre diet. As I mentioned earlier some of the features revealed by the excavation are being retained and will, in due course, be accessible to the public.
Provision is also included here for grants totalling £80,000 for archaeological research purposes made in consultation with the Royal Irish Academy.
The archaeological survey of the country, the purpose of which is to locate and record all monuments so as to enable a comprehensive policy for their protection to be formulated, will make steady progress during 1987. Sites and monuments record for about seven counties are expected to be produced this year bring the total completed so far to 12. Inventories, which are descriptive, mapped records and which follow the completion of sites and monuments records, have been published for two counties and this year, a further county, namely County Meath, will be issued.
The special survey of medieval and plantation towns is also making steady progress and this year reports on at least six counties will be completed and made available to the relevant planning authorties to enable them to take account of archaeological factors when drawing up development plans and when considering planning applications. This will bring the number of completed counties to 13. The remaining counties should be completed in 1988.
A pilot survey of thatched houses in County Dublin has been completed and results are being studied with a view to devising a policy for the preservation of this threatened part of our vernacular heritage.
As Deputies know, new legislation which will provide better protection for our heritage than exists at present is currently before the House. The Commissioners of Public Works have prime responsibility for that heritage.
I trust that this necessarily fairly long account of the range of works, for which £3,551,000 is sought this year for the National Monuments Service, will serve to illustate how these necessary ongoing programmes will conserve and preserve our national heritage for present and future generations.
Programme 6 covers Inland Waterways and the provision of £2,399,000 sought this year will cover expenditure on the Shannon navigation, for which the commissioners have had responsibility for many years, and also expenditure on the Royal and Grand Canals, including the Barrow navigation, which were transferred to the care of the Commissioners last year under the Canals Act, 1986.
The development of the canals so that their full recreational and amenity value for the general public can be realised represents a major challenge, but it is one to which I am certain my office can respond. The planning consultants retained by the commissioners to carry out a study of the canals have completed the study and their report, which will contain detailed proposals for the future development and management of the canals will be available shortly. It is clear from the study that a significant level of co-operation between the Office of Public Works, other State bodies, local authorities and the many voluntary and community groups with an interest in the canals will be rquired in any programme for their future development.
In the meantime, priority is being given to increased maintenance work such as dredging, weed control, improved maintenance of the canal banks and replacement of lock gates. To this end, the sum of £1,589,000 is included under Sùbhead H of the Estimate for maintenance work on the canals. This figure represents an increase of approximately 25 per cent on the amount spent on maintenance of the canals in 1986 and is a clear indication of the importance which is attached to dealing with the backlog of maintenance which had built up in the years prior to the commissioners taking them over. The recent re-opening of the Naas branch of the Grand Canal, following a programme of extensive dredging, lock gate replacement and tree planting along the banks, has provided an additional pleasant amenity for the people of the area and a further stretch of navigable waterway for boat users to enjoy. I hope that it is but the first of many such restoration projects on the canals which my office will complete.
The balance of the Subhead H provision, £690,000, will be spent on the maintenance of the Shannon Navigation. Pleasure cruising on the Shannon has developed into one of the country's major tourist attractions and maintenance work on the various harbours, sluices, locks and other navigation facilities, which is carried out on a year round basis, ensures that the highest standards are maintained at all times. In addition to this maintenance work, the commissioners will continue their programme of new development works on the Shannon this year, with continued work on the extension of Lecarrow Harbour, with further improvements at Hudson's Bay and with the commencement of work on new mooring facilities at Galey Bay on Lough Ree. These developments undoubtedly will increase further the popularity of this area with boat users.
Programme 7 covers the President's household staff for which an amount of £86,000 is sought this year.
The administration of the office is covered in Programme 8 for which a sum of £14,061,000 is sought. This includes the salaries and wages of the staff as well as official travel and staff training and development. Deputies will note that the overall amount sought is down on last year's outturn, which reflects a reduction in staffing levels within the office.
Programme 9 covers income and it will be seen that receipts, expected this year to be £6,800,000, will be down substantially on last year's outturn. One of the main reasons for this decrease is that the OPW are no longer required to seek recoupment from county councils of expenditure incurred on the maintenance of completed arterial drainage schemes.
Before I finish, it is, I think, worthy of mention that the office also undertakes for other Departments, works such as prisons, fishery facilities and some court work which are funded from outside of Vote 10.
I will, of course, be happy to note any comments Deputies may wish to make on the Office of Public Works Estimate.