I am pleased to be here to introduce the 2003 Estimate for the Office of Public Works. Before dealing with the main heads of expenditure within the Estimate, I would like to refer briefly to current developments in the Office of Public Works. One of my main objectives as Minister of State with responsibility for public works is to transform under utilised State properties and turn them into valuable assets. For too long the State was willing to sell off its property and assets and let others extract the maximum value from the deal. Currently we are promoting a different approach which will extract maximum value from the State property portfolio.
In the past week, the Office of Public Works and Eircom jointly lodged a planning application for the first phase Westgate, one of Dublin's and Ireland's most significant urban developments for decades. It will transform the N7 western corridor to Dublin city and provide a dynamic living and working environment for thousands of people. Dublin City Council has identified this area, close to Heuston Station, as one of the most important development zones for the future growth ofDublin and has formulated the Heuston area regeneration strategy to stimulate and control this growth. This project, an important joint venture with Eircom, will be a key part of that future and will create a modern and dynamic western entrance to Dublin city centre.
In November 2002 I announced that a major review of national flooding policy would be carried out. The purpose of the review is to assess the extent of the flooding problem, clarify roles and responsibilities amongst the various State agencies involved in flood relief and recommend practical action to deal with the problem more effectively in the future. The review group, which I chair, comprises the Office of Public Works, the Departments of Finance, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Agriculture and Food, the County and City Managers Association, IBEC and the IFA. The first meeting of the group took place in January 2003, following which an advertisement was placed in the three national daily newspapers inviting submissions from all interested individuals and bodies wishing to have their views considered. I am advised that 70 written submissions were received as part of this process and all of these are currently being examined.
In addition, the review group also identified a number of key stakeholders whose inputs it believes are important to the development of future policy and most of these bodies have now been met. To date, the full group has met five times to consider a wide range of issues and I remain confident of being in a position to present its report to Government by late autumn of this year, as originally projected.
I will now turn to the main areas of expenditure proposed for Vote 10 this year. The total amount being sought is €405.706 million, this represents a 6% increase on the 2002 outturn. A sum of €351.9 million is sought for the accommodation programme where, at €210 million, building work is the largest element. Examples of the major projects being undertaken this year include the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Food and State laboratories facilities to Back-weston at a cost of €80 million in 2003.
A major programme of rationalisation of office accommodation will take place requiring funding of over €37 million. We expect to spend some €11 million on a building programme for the Department of Social and Family Affairs and over €12 million on major improvement schemes on Garda buildings. Ongoing improvement and refurbishment works at the Houses of Oireachtas complex will account for approximately €5 million in 2003 and projects under way at the cultural institutions will have an annual spend of over €10 million.
An indication of the commitment of both the Office of Public Works and the Government to improve the built environment in terms of accessibility is the "Design for All" exhibition, launched in October 2002, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Institute for Design and Disability. The exhibition is designed to increase awareness and stimulate discussion on the topic of design for all. The Government is committed to the principle that all environments should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability. An allocation of €2 million has been included in new works in 2003 for the universal access programme. However, this does not represent the full extent of Office of Public Works expenditure on disabled access as all our major new construction projects and refurbishment projects are fully accessible.
Within the overall accommodation programme, €110 million is sought for rent and rates. Rented accommodation affords the office the flexibility to respond immediately to urgent requirements for space, as in the case of the various tribunals of inquiry, expansion of Departments and newly created bodies. The office currently manages over 1 million sq. m. of accommodation, of which some 40% is leased. Currently, the State property portfolio contains 1,710 properties made up of 1,924 buildings. Property and rental prices in prime city locations, after rising significantly in recent years have stabilised in 2002 and the Office of Public Works continues to obtain favourable rental rates in comparison to the private sector. Another element of the accommodation programme is that of maintenance of the State property portfolio. The estimated requirement for 2003 under this heading is €30 million.
The second programme in terms of financial importance is drainage and engineering works, for which there is a financial requirement of €36 million. The programme is comprised of the various flood relief schemes, ongoing arterial drainage maintenance and humanitarian aid. Deputies will recall that the Government reacted quickly to deal with the problems suffered by people whose houses were flooded in February and November 2002. Two schemes of humanitarian assistance were put in place and administered by the Irish Red Cross at a cost of €13.5 million. These catered for 1,400 applicants who had suffered extreme hardship as a result of the flooding. I am pleased the Government was in a position to respond quickly to the unfortunate victims of the flooding and hope the assistance provided helped restore their lives to normality.
The flood relief programme will require €20 million for ongoing schemes countywide. Works on the Kilkenny scheme are ongoing and will account for over €11 million of this year's allocation. Work has been ongoing on the interim flood alleviation measures on the River Tolka in the Glasnevin and Drumcondra areas of Dublin city since January of this year. All of the works will be completed in 2003 and the total cost of these works being implemented in the Dublin city area of the Tolka is expected to be in the region of €700,000.
The Office of Public Works is to carry out a pre-feasibility study on the River Shannon and it is likely to take nine months and cost €150,000 to make an initial assessment of the viability of localised flood relief works. It is generally accepted that a full scheme for the Shannon is not viable on economic and environmental grounds. The study is to be undertaken in co-operation and close consultation with the IFA, representing local landowners, Waterways Ireland, the ESB and other relevant bodies.
Before I conclude I would like to say that I and the staff of the Office of Public Works are looking forward to the reintegration of the national monuments and historic properties operational functions from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I am satisfied that this arrangement will result in a more coherent approach to the protection and maintenance of our natural heritage and built environment. I thank members for their attention and I will be pleased to hear the views of the committee and to do my best to answer any questions members may raise.