Vol. 402 No. 8
I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £12,000,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on 31st day of December, 1990, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of Public Works, and for services administered by that Office, including the Stationery Office as part of the Government Supplies Agency.
The Supplementary Estimate of £12 million sought for Vote 10 arises mainly from the decision to proceed with the refurbishment of the former College of Science building as a priority project.
Subhead E of Vote 10 originally included a provision of £1 million for the cleaning of the stonework of the former College of Science. In January last it was decided that the main project should proceed on a fast-track basis to resolve once and for all the accommodation needs of the Department of the Taoiseach, Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Finance as part of a major rationalisation of accommodation being undertaken by the office of Public Works. Accordingly, following the invitation and consideration of tenders, a contract was placed in March with McInerney Contracting Ltd. the lowest bidders for the total refurbishment of the former college premises, including the Engineering Block at the rear of the college.
This project also constitutes an important advancement in the Government's programme of restoration of major public buildings which has already seen excellent schemes carried out at Dublin Castle, the Custom House and the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham. It also forms part of the drive to improve the fabric of, and achieve maximum functional benefit from, the collection of public buildings in the Merrion Street-Kildare Street Block.
In a recent reply to a Dáil question the Taoiseach gave details of the project. The value of the contract is £13.2 million excluding VAT, of which approximately £6.5 million will be paid out in wages. The total budget for the current project is approximately £17.6 million to include VAT, professional fees, inflation and contingencies. The work involves the refurbishment of the buildings to modern standards in keeping with their role as the centre of Government. As well as providing accommodation for the Taoiseach and his Department, a substantial extra area will be provided for Members and staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Department of the Taoiseach take possession of part of the refurbished building at the end of this year. As a consequence of that move, the Attorney General's Office will take over extra rooms in the north block of Government Buildings to accommodate additional legal staff currently being recruited.
The Department of Finance will be allocated most of the offices currently occupied by the Department of the Taoiseach in Government Buildings and will, in exchange, release other premises at present occupied by them mainly to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
As a consequence of the project, the Dáil will gain much needed space in the refurbished Engineering Block building as well as more accommodation in Kildare House and accommodation at present occupied by them in Merrion Square — and by the Department of Finance in Upper Merrion Street — will also be released. Thus, a major reorganisation of Government and Dáil accommodation will be effected and the State will be in a position to release accommodation in other areas as a consequence of the refurbishment works. Indeed I am sure that in their comings and goings from the House many Deputies have been impressed by progress on this project. I want to avail of this opportunity to congratulate the contractors, the consultants and the staff of the Office of Public Works on a job carried out speedily and to the highest standards. I also want to thank Deputies for their patience and co-operation while this major work is underway.
Some extra expenditure also arose on a number of relatively minor works bringing the total additional sum required on subhead E — New Works, Alterations and Additions — to £14.5 million. These mainly involved works necessitated by Ireland's Presidency of the EC in the first half of the year.
Smaller additional sums are required on a number of other subheads. On subhead B1 an extra £250,000 is needed mainly to meet the cost of travelling arising from works at new sites under the EC Structural Funds programme and extra areas of responsibility. Increased subsistence allowances are also a factor. Decentralisation projects, wildlife acquisitions and new parks are among the responsibilities giving rise to the extra costs.
An additional £120,000 is required on subhead D — Purchase of Sites. This arises mainly from the purchase of sites for approved projects including the proposed employment exchange in Tallaght, a contract for which is likely to be placed next year.
Subhead F1 — Maintenance and Supplies — requires an additional £800,000. As Deputies are probably aware, individual Departments carry the financial responsibility for the maintenance of buildings which they occupy. However, there are a number of centres, mostly important State buildings, which are exempted from this system and whose maintenance remains the responsibility of the Office of Public Works. These are mainly Leinster house itself, the Museum, the National Gallery and the complex generally. It is largely on these that the extra cost arose, particularly in the context of the EC Presidency. Compensation payments and the extra cost of service charges added significantly to the overrun.
An extra £190,000 is required on Subhead F4 — Fuel, Electricity, Water, Cleaning Materials etc. This subhead covers energy and other costs at certain major State buildings. The extra requirement arises mainly from the energy costs at Dublin Castle, including the new conference centre, which was used to its maximum during the EC Presidency, and the Royal Hospital.
On subhead L3 — Arterial Drainage-Maintenance — an extra £300,000 is needed. This is for urgently required maintenance work which arose to a large extent as a result of damage caused by severe floods which occurred early in the year, mainly on the Swilly embankments and the River Inny and some work in Ballyheigue in Wexford among others.
I am glad to report that receipts in subhead O — Appropriations-in-Aid — will be £1 million in excess of the estimated figure.
The main increase arises from charges for services carried out by the Government Supplies Agency — £300,000 — and from charges for various other services carried out on a repayment basis-£700,000. These returns reflect the ability of the Office of Public Works to operate in the commercial arena and the quality of the service which they provide.
The other main area of increase is from charges for admission and services at parks and national monuments where the estimated return will be extended by £310,000. While this figure reflects the Government's drive to boost tourist numbers and spending, it also reflects the consistently high qualify of the work of the Commissioners of Public Works in the conservation and amenity area, including top-class presentation of these sites to the public. Deficiencies in the returns in other areas reduce the overall increase from Appropriations-in-Aid to £1 million.
While the extra requirements which I have outlined on six subheads total £16,160,000, this is offset by a cumulative saving of £3,160,000 which can be achieved over a range of subheads. The gross supplementary total is thus £13 million. However, this is reduced by increased receipts to a net figure of £12 million which is less than the amount required this year for the refurbishment of the former College of Science, the project which gave rise to the Supplementary.
I commend this Supplementary Estimate of £12 million to the House.
We on this side of the House welcome the decision to give priority to the College of Science restoration project. Everyone both inside and outside this House has known that block of buildings as Government Buildings for several years. Even though it is a relatively new complex it is nevertheless architecturally significant and important. The visual effect of this complex is beautiful. The complex forms an important and integral part of a block of streetscape — I am referring here to the remaining part of red brick Georgian Dublin. For this reason we must welcome this because that streetscape is unique.
It has been mentioned that there is a utilitarian value to what has been done to the building, in particular inside the building, providing greater space for the Department of the Taoiseach, the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Finance and Members of the Oireachtas. While I must enter some doubt at providing greater space for the Taoiseach — I say this because on my visits to the Taoiseach's office in the past I found it both spacious and indeed opulent — nevertheless, some space must be provided to relieve congestion among the staff, and this is to be welcomed. In the same way we welcome the provision of additional space for the Attorney General and his staff and for the staff of the Department of Finance.
Let me also say — we are often reluctant to say these things here — that we warmly welcome the provision of additional space for Members of the Oireachtas and their secretaries. Very often Members of this House work in appalling conditions which would not be tolerated elsewhere. The law provides for minimum space in accommodation in the workplace but that law does not seem to apply to Members of these Houses or their staffs, in spite of what the Gay Byrnes of this world and other people outside this House, who misrepresent the conditions Oireachtas Members have to work under, may think.
As the Minister has said, the Supplementary Estimate is for £12 million but the total cost in the current year will be £15 million. This means that £3 million have been found elsewhere in savings from the current year's budget for the Office of Public Works. The Minister referred to that without giving too many details. While we welcome any savings we must condemn some of the savings that made up that £3 million saved in the Office of Public Works. We think some of the saving under certain headings should be looked for elsewhere. It is utterly disgraceful that almost £1.3 million of the £3 million saved is accounted for by a cut in the moneys provided this year for the care of national monuments, the Wildlife Service, national parks, inland waterways and conservation works. In all these areas we should be increasing expenditure because the funding we provide is totally inadequate.
It has often been said on these benches and in many places outside this House that we have disgracefully neglected our national monuments, particularly in recent years. During the past three years approximately one-third of the professional staff attached to the national monuments section of the Office of Public Works have left, many of them on retirement but many others out of sheer frustration, and none has been replaced. The people I am referring to are archaeologists, engineers and architects, the people we need if we are to have a conservation and preservation policy of national monuments.
The amount of money provided for the care and protection of our 700 or so designated national monuments is pathetic. To say that those monuments are in care is in most cases a complete misrepresentation because absolutely nothing is done to protect them or to prevent them from falling into ruin or destruction. Where restoration is being carried out, excellent work is being done to protect and preserve monuments, but many monuments designated as national monuments get absolutely no care at all with the result that they will continue to fall apart, fall down or into ruin.
Recently the archaeological site at Lough Crew near Oldcastle, County Meath, was brought to my notice. This is a designated national monument. As the Minister may know, it consists of a mega-lithic passage tomb complex with a unique collection of standing stones. These stones are in an accelerating state of destruction as they are out in the open and have no protection. The elements are wiping away the decorations, the motifs and the reliefs on this unique set of middle Stone Age tombs.
I should also mention an archaeological site in my own constituency of Roscommon. I am referring here to Ballintubber Castle. It is unique because it is the first and one of the very few Gaelic or Celtic stone castles in Ireland. By and large, stone castles are of Norman influence or origin, but this one is unique in that it is a purely Gaelic or Celtic one. It is one of the largest stone monuments in the country and has a little more than 1,000 feet of curtain wall. Even though the condition of this castle has been raised in this House, in the other House and elsewhere, nothing has been done. It has been estimated that it loses about 5 per cent of its curtain wall each year to ruin because it is exposed to the elements and there has been no intervention to save or protect it. Those are just two examples to show what is happening to our national monuments, which are part of our national heritage. Nothing has been done about it.
Sadly, we find in this Estimate, even though money is being provided to restore this relatively new College of Science — which also forms part of our heritage — the amount being provided to protect and preserve these ancient sites and buildings is being cut back. There are about 70,000 archaeological and historical sites throughout the country which have not been designated as national monuments. Under the last National Monuments Act they were designated as historic monuments, but there is quite a distinction between a national and a historic monument. Those buildings do not either enjoy the limited care that the designation "national monument" can bring. We are losing those by the dozen, maybe even by the hundred each year; we do not know how many for sure. They are being destroyed by commercial forestry, by so-called farm improvements and, in places, to urban development. This is happening because no resources in terms of manpower or money are made available to protect them.
The National Museum, next door to this building, must be unique among national museums in that it does not have a proper conservation laboratory to date, identify and preserve artefacts and treasures found on various sites from time to time. Taking money in the name of savings from the preservation of our archaeological and historical inheritance almost raises a question about our commitment to civilisation. If we forget for a moment the imperative placed upon every generation to preserve their inheritance and see it only in cold economic terms——
It is my sad duty to interrupt the Deputy to tell him that his time is up. Perhaps he will introduce the word finally and make one final sentence.
I thank the Chair for his indulgence. If we see our inheritance in purely economic terms we will be dismissed as criminal. The Minister will be aware that Bord Fáilte, and surveys show that the single most preferred activity engaged in by people who come to Ireland is visiting places of archaeological and historic interest.
The Deputy will have to abide by the time. I am calling Deputy Taylor who has a maximum of ten minutes.
I may not need all that time. The Labour Party will be opposing this Supplementary Estimate. We oppose it on the basis that the Government have been guilty of the most appalling and gross mismanagement on the issue of the developments at the College of Science project, and its related project, namely, the management and sale of the properties across the road in Merrion Street. We have seen an amazing development by the Government under which that group of once valuable houses have been allowed lie idle and to fall into a state of dereliction over two years. No realistic or urgent effort was made by them to sell the houses when they were supposed to be sold, on a rising market and provide a substantial portion of the moneys required for the development of the College of Science. The intention was that there would be a substantial appropriation-in-aid of some £6 million from the proper management and sale of those properties when the time was right. What has happened? As a result of the appalling failure of the Government to do their job properly the tide has been missed, the market is now downward and those valuable State-owned properties are deteriorating month on month, week on week and there they lie.
Instead, we find that the House is presented with a Supplementary Estimate for £12 million. The Government have gone away from their original proposals for the College of Science which was for an interim expenditure for the year of £1 million. They decided to designate this a priority project. They decided, in the words of the Minister to put this project on the fast track. If one looks around one will see what other pressing items need the priority project treatment. What are the other needs of the people that require the fast track response? What has been the response of the Government to them compared to their response to the College of Science project involving an expenditure of £17 million? If one looks at the housing needs of our people one will see that there are thousands of people in every local authority area — every Deputy and councillor is aware of this — waiting for housing accommodation without hope of getting a home for themselves in the foreseeable future. The Government have failed to manage their affairs properly and do not have the political will to provide funding to build local authority houses for people.
It is strange that the Government can call for fiscal rectitude and cutbacks in the housing programme and put the College of Science project on the fast track to provide additional offices for the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, the Attorney General and Members of the House. Members of the House do need additional accommodation and that should be tackled on a gradual basis but we do not need the super luxury extravaganza of a Merrion Street project put on the fast track. At the same time one has to face the fact that they have mismanaged the project by failing to capitalise on their important asset which was supposed to have been integral to the whole development. They have gone ahead on the fast track on the expenditure side but made a mess of the Merrion Street properties resulting in a loss to the taxpayer.
If those properties had been disposed of properly the £6 million that would have been forthcoming could have been put to the urgent needs of local authorities and given some hope to those who have no hope, either now or in the foreseeable future of getting a home. There are no plans to build houses and the money being provided in the current year and next year is not sufficient. It is strange that the Merrion Street project was put on the fast track and taken off the gradual planned basis, arranged for in the Estimates at the beginning of the year. Did the Government come to Dáil Éireann and say, "we are contemplating putting this project on the fast track, changing what the Members voted on and accepted at the beginning of the year, namely, an expenditure of £1 million and instead we are setting about an expenditure of a further £12 million"? No, they went ahead and spent the money. That is the irony of the situation and it is a complete misnomer to call this a supplementary estimate. This is not an Estimate, it is a bill because that money has been spent.
This evening it is not a question of whether we should go ahead with this project, of debating whether it is a good idea or whether, there are more pressing priorities, such as the housing needs of the people. It is a fait accompli because the job has been done and the money spent. The Minister has told us that the money has been spent and introduced this Supplementary Estimate to cover it. That is not acceptable, it is not good enough. It is not good enough for the Minister to compare this super luxury provision in these difficult times for so many of our people to the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham. There is a very big difference between the two. At least the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham is a very fine premises which is open to the public. Thousands of ordinary citizens from Dublin, and outside, visit it to attend functions and exhibitions. At least there is a public exhibition element to the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham.
In relation to the proposals for the College of Science how many members of the public will ever see this magnificence and super luxury? The answer is, very few indeed.
Admittedly, it is an idle exercise voting against the Supplementary Estimate for the reason that the money has been spent and the job has been done, but nonetheless the Labour Party put down their marker as a protest at this project. They are protesting at the way it proceeded, the way the Government mismanaged public funds to the extent that they have denied £6 million of public money by leaving those houses to fall into increasing dereliction instead of, two years, 18 months or one year ago, organising their affairs and selling those properties so that if a supplementary estimate was needed it would have been for about half of the amount the Minister proposes. Those moneys could have been made available to provide very urgently needed houses and accommodation, health benefits, social welfare increases and so on for the people of this country.
In so far as Deputy Eric Byrne is relatively new to debate on the Supplementary Estimates, I want to remind him, so that I will not have to interrupt him again and take from his time, that contributions are confined to what is provided for in the Supplementary Estimate.
It is 10.01 p.m. now. Do I have nine or ten minutes left?
The Deputy has ten minutes.
I rise to challenge the Government's decision to grant yet another lump sum of £12 million by way of a Supplementary Estimate to the Office of Public Works and I do so because of my dissatisfaction and concern about the way in which these huge sums of money are being spent. When we consider, for example, that over £96 million was already sanctioned by this House this year for the Office of Public Works and we look at the breakdown of how that money was spent we can see that by far the biggest amount was spent under Subhead E — new works, additions and alterations. When we look closely at the figures we can see that £24.69 million has been spent under this subhead this year, an increase of 44 per cent over the amount spent last year. This heading also consumed the greatest percentage of funds last year.
Tonight the Government are seeking sanction for another £14.5 million under Subhead E. To be blunt about it I am concerned at the Taoiseach's reply to a parliamentary question on 24 October 1990 that "the whole engineering block"— that is at the College of Science complex —"at my personal insistence is being provided for accommodation...". The taxpayers of this country deserve to know how their money is being spent. I disagree with my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Quinn, who believes that it is money well spent. While I have a desire for and appreciation of nice things like, for example, fine architecture, beautiful office furnishings and the new ceremonial staircase to the first floor offices to the core of An Taoiseach's new suite of offices under the impressive dome in the College of Science building, access to which can be by helicopter which will land on the roof of the building, I have to balance expenditure on these things — with the view of my constituents, who equally appreciate nice things, that too much money was spent last year and this year on these so-called nice things when parents of children with mental handicap are marching outside these buildings looking for residential care for their children, very often children who are adult dependants of very elderly parents.
How democratic is it, for example, for the Taoiseach to "personally insist" on spending a vast sum of £17.6 million? It is important that our State buildings are maintained in good repair — and I accept that the Government should have comfortable accommodation — but £17.6 million is excessive and is more in keeping with the sentiments expressed that "it is very important to project Government buildings in a good light — after all we are a European capital" than with the actual need to spend all of this money on this building. Outer appearances to visitors should not be a reason for spending this money, particularly when so many sacrifices have been made by many people over the past number of years because of cutbacks in vital services such as health, education and the public house building programme which was mentioned earlier.
I want to pose the question: how can an elected public representative, who hears this Government talk about projects as though they were using monopoly money and, for instance buying a second jet such as the £30 million Gulfstream 3 jet, explain to those patients on public waiting lists for heart surgery, some of whom are dying as they wait, the equity of this approach? If £21 million is spent on modernising the recently magnificently refurbished Dublin Castle and one third of the population are living in poverty, then I think it is time we agreed that we could satisfy ourselves by spending half of the £17.6 million on the college buildings and still give ourselves accommodation of adequate quality and comfort.
I am not against spending some money on public buildings but the Government have a responsibility to be balanced in their approach to the spending of taxpayers' money. They should not be extravagant, flamboyant or ostentatious when we cannot afford to be. Although Dublin is a capital city in Europe we should not attempt to project ourselves as a nation of equal wealth to that of our EC partners.
My comments must not be seen in any way as an attack on the Office of Public Works or the men and women who work there. They are admirably suited to their jobs and they carry out excellent work. Indeed, evidence of this can be seen in this building in the restoration of the Seanad ceiling and the Members' Library which after a dry rot attack were refurbished under the direction of the Office of Public Works. These people do excellent, quality work. They do what is expected of them by the Government who decide on how much funding they are going to make available to them.
I am concerned that the Government have apparently no great difficulty in spending vast sums of money — an extra £12 million here tonight in the time it takes to say Cock Robin — when at the same time schools have difficulty in getting a remedial teacher or a caretaker and parents have difficulty in getting residential units for their mentally handicapped children. When I balance the social needs of our society with the needs of the relatively well off people in our society, TDs, Senators and the top civil servants who are accommodated in these extravagant buildings, I do not think we are looking the problem in the eye. It is extremely difficult for any public representative to attempt to sell to the public, particularly the one third of them who are in desperate need, the voting of an extra £12 million here tonight on what is mainly high grade fashionable accommodation which is unnecessary, given the plight of the nation as a whole.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Supplementary Estimate for the Office of Public Works. I will also have something to say about the comments made by some previous speakers. The Supplementary Estimate has been brought forward for work which will benefit not only the Taoiseach but the nation. Reference has been made to the £14.5 million provided for new works, alterations and additions and it has been said that this money was spent mainly in Merrion Street. That may be true, but anybody who looks at the contracts will see that £6.5 million was paid out in wages to workers on that project. Deputy Byrne and Deputy Taylor will realise that many of their constituents were probably recipients of some of this money. This is far more likely in the case of their constituents than in the case of mine in Sligo-Leitrim. I am not making any derogatory remarks about those workers. The skill and craftsmanship they have shown is a credit to them and this project will go down in history as one of the finest works performed by the Office of Public Works in modern times. They have had many major successes.
I welcome amounts provided for arterial drainage which will help to speed up several necessary schemes especially in my part of the country. Deputy Connor will agree that the work on the Boyle and Bonet drainage scheme is of great importance to the area. I hope that work to complete the Bonet drainage scheme will be completed in the not too distant future. The section outstanding is from Dromahair to Lough Gill and involves several tributaries.
The Office of Public Works do not get the credit they deserve. They take on works which could not be done by the private sector at any cost. This year in my constituency they opened Parkes Castle, a major tourist attraction. Their work is not only for the benefit of archaelogists. It is also to preserve public buildings which are a major part of our heritage. They are not given as much funding as we would like. Numerous archaelogical sites need to be preserved but sufficient money is not available. I would agree with Deputy Connor that the Office of Public Works have a major contribution to make at several sites in my area.
Works done this year on the Ballinamore-Ballyconnel canal will be of great benefit to the entire nation. I do not see how Members can complain about these works. Some of the travelling and incidental expenses claimed are in respect of the Lough Allen canal. It is a major scheme and will mean the opening up of Lough Allen as part of the Shannon navigation system.
While we might complain that certain works have not been done quickly enough, the standard of work carried out by the Office of Public Works will never be held up to ridicule by any architect in the future. Their work is meant to last for three or four generations and to show that we have preserved as much of our heritage as capital resources allowed.
The money spent in Merrion Street is well spent and will yield benefits in the years ahead. Like Deputies Taylor and Byrne, I have problems with regard to cutbacks in other areas. Are we to allow ourselves to be downgraded at all levels? Are we to allow buildings of prominence in this city to go to ruin? We have a responsibility to see to it that buildings of merit are preserved. The fact that the engineering block in Merrion Street is being turned into Government offices is evidence of forward thinking. It is important that people who come to this country should see that we have reasonable accommodation. If people do not have proper facilities where they work, it will be understood they will not provide good facilities for others.
The work being done on inland waterways will be of great importance in the future. Supplementary Estimates brought in for this purpose are justifiable. It is necessary that works undertaken by the Office of Public Works continue and that high standards be maintained. Deputy Byrne talked about doing a lesser job. A job half done is a job not done at all. Work should be done to the highest standards. When people see that the cost of this project is approximately £17.6 million they may think the building is being provided solely for the people who work there. That is not so. The scheme will give a major return to the State in that the people who work on the project will pay their taxes and there will be VAT refunds to the State. Many such schemes are of major benefit to the country. The saving in welfare benefits in respect of the people working on the scheme is of major proportions. Workers there receive very high wages for doing a skilled job. We should not run down contracts such as this and give the impression that the project is designed to create a luxury office for the Taoiseach and top civil servants. It will be there for future Taoisigh. Two weeks ago the Taoiseach told members of the Opposition that it will be a facility that might be of use to them some day. They should realise these are facilities which are being provided for future Governments. They are necessary facilities. If there is to be a helicopter pad on the roof of the building, that provision is quite in order because people entering this city are entitled to observe that our Government have facilities on a par with those provided in other European capitals.
Or is it so that they should not be exposed to the terrible condition of our roads?
I had not proposed contributing to this debate but I have been listening on the monitor to the various contributions particularly those of Labour and The Workers' Party. The reason I have decided to contribute is that I regard the Estimate before the house — apart altogether from the excessive language concerning helicopter pads and so on — as nothing other than pandering to the general perception on the part of the public and that there is over-expenditure in respect of the Houses of the Oireachtas whereas nothing could be further from the truth.
As a Chief Whip, sharing accommodation with seven Deputies and four Senators in No. 89 Merrion Square, I can honestly say that the conditions there are so Dickensian were inspectors asked to inspect the level of accommodation, it would be closed forthwith. That is when we would indeed have a crisis and public scandal. There are leaks in the roof, the building is substandard by no means up to the standard one might expect for basic, mundane office accommodation, even the most fundamental office accommodation never mind the Houses of Parliament.
It is my honest opinion that what we are now about to pass in this House represents a very sensible arrangement, that is to put in place an office accommodation arrangement for Members of this House and their secretaries. There is nothing elaborate in it; it is comprised of ordinary fluorescent lighting, no chandeliers or cocktail cabinets but rather standard desks, chairs, filing cabinets and so on, nothing more. If we cannot afford such basic accommodation then we should not be in the business of politics in the first place.
Apart altogether from the accommodation in Merrion Square the conditions prevailing in Leinster House are not on a par with those in most other EC member states. They are cramped and overcrowded, with two and three Deputies sharing office accommodation; likewise two and three secretaries working on top of one another.
To come into this House this evening and oppose this Estimate on the basis of empathising with the public perception that we are providing ourselves with something beyond the norm is doing ourselves an enormous disservice. We are prostituting ourselves to the basic public perception, particularly that of the media, that we are spending money wastefully. The secretaries working from No. 89 Merrion Square do so in extremely difficult circumstances. They are the people who must man those offices when we have left the premises. They have got to communicate with people in this House, commute backwards and forwards, even for photocopying purposes apart altogether from the other core facilities such as restaurants and so on.
Therefore, we are not doing ourselves justice by availing of this opportunity to create a division in this House. I would appeal to Members of the Labour Party and The Workers' Party to do the sensible thing, accept this Estimate as reasonable, as being within the ordinary perameters of expenditure, something we can afford. As I have said already, if we cannot afford basic office accommodation then we should not be in the business of politics at all. There is nothing excessive in this expenditure. I have seen the offices concerned. They are very basic; in comparison with the general extravaganza of the business world they are fairly mundane, and spartan. In the name of heavens let us not go down the road of pandering to the media who did not even do us the honour of listening to our contributions this evening.
I attend a Whips' meeting every Thursday when we set the Order of Business for the following week. Invariably it happens that the Whip of the Labour Party and The Workers' Party raise, as a final item, the matter of office accommodation. I listen to Members of The Workers' Party complain incessantly about their accommodation in the College of Art. This Estimate represents to step to take us out of the College of Art and No. 89 Merrion Square, allowing us move into the core facilities of Leinster House proper. Rather than fighting this evening about a £12 million supplementary Estimate for fairly basic, mundane office accommodation, what we should really be talking about is knocking this existing structure, building a whole new complex in order to put ourselves on a par with other democratic parliamentary institutions. It is not resplendent, extravagant, does not involve waste of money. Let us do the sensible thing for once and collectively support this Supplementary Estimate.
The Minister has five minutes in which to reply.
May I repeat that the College of Science complex contains some of the most historic and important public buildings in this city, that the entire series of interlinking buildings are of great national and historic importance? I might add also that the project represents the first major refurbishment of that complex since the foundation of this State. As Deputy Jim Higgins rightly said, we hear constant complaints about facilities and lack thereof for Members as well as others. When this opportunity presented itself if was important that we took a decision to go ahead and complete that project to the very highest standard. I want to avail of this opportunity to thank Deputies who have been constructive here this evening although we did have the usual negative contribution from Deputy Taylor. We hear it on numerous occasions here. As has been said already, any one of us could indulge in that kind of pandering to the general public. The general public know and appreciate the important work being done here. In fact we receive numerous requests from people to see the work done there, generally regarded as being of first-class quality, the workmanship being of the highest quality and standard.
Deputy Connor referred to the fact that we were saving some money under some important subheads on which he would like to see more expenditure incurred. Part of the reason for that was that in some areas we had hoped to have land acquisitions completed especially in relation to the extensions of parks and our responsibility in that area. Because of problems in finalising these acquisitions it was possible to effect some additional savings in that it would not be possible for us to complete and pay for some of these projects before the end of the financial year.
There were also specific problems we encountered in dealing with Structural Fund projects, in many of which we were involved not as full owners or disciplines but in partnership with other organisations or bodies, also leading to some delays in the completion of projects and involving some savings.
I should like to assure Deputy Connor that, in regard to his concern about national monuments generally, we have embarked on detailed specific surveys. For example, I recently launched the 20th survey of archaeological and historical sites, on a county by county basis, in Kerry and previously in Sligo. That work is now well in hand and will enable us to allow programmes of conservation to be undertaken on many important sites and in areas neglected in the past. This will also put on record, on a county by county basis, a detailed survey of monuments undertaken with the skills of the Office of Public Works utilising modern technology and aerial photography. In Sligo something like 1,000 additional sites in the county were identified as a result of a survey completed this year. We are pushing ahead with that registration and identification of national sites and monuments which will be welcome and important not only for the Office of Public Works but for many voluntary bodies, planners, local authorities and so on so that they identify precisely the location of these important sites and ensure that they are not damaged in any way in development works or planning projects of one kind or another.
Deputy Byrne raised the matter of dissatisfaction with the total expenditure involved under a particular subhead and took issue with the amount of money being spent under that subhead. I might remind him that the projects covered by this subhead are mainly in the area of the provision of public offices throughout the State generally. For instance, Garda stations account for £86 million of the expenditure under the subhead. The Deputy will be aware that in many parts of the country, in addition to there being substandard office accommodation here, there has been substandard Garda accommodation in various locations. Approximately £6 million of the expenditure incurred under the subhead is being expended for that purpose. There is also ongoing restoration and refurbishment taking place in Templemore in the training centre and another £6 million is being spent there.
The Estimate amounted in the main to £14.5 million.
The Deputy made the point that on the overall subhead we were spending about £20 million this year and he queried whether this was money well spent. This subhead does not apply only to the College of Science building. It covers matters such as Garda stations, Templemore Training Centre, provincial Government offices, Defence headquarters and many others such as the Revenue Computer Centre and the National Museum. We can give the Deputy a breakdown of the procedure on all these matters which are all being undertaken to very high standards with the most speedy expedition possible.
Deputy Taylor referred to the disposal of the Merrion Street houses.
I am sorry to interrupt the Minister but the time has come to put the question.
The sale negotiations are still proceeding.
Vótáil.
A division has been challenged and the vote will take place at 8.30 p.m. tomorrow in accordance with Standing Order 127 (1).
Will the vote tomorrow evening be before or after the vote on Private Members' Business?
Subject to correction, I would think afterwards. This would be my assumption.
