OPW and Department of Environment to appear before PAC

Chairman of the Committee John McGuinness said: “Both the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and the OPW will be in attendance on Thursday to discuss Chapter 6 of the 2012 C&AG Annual Report, which reports on Land Swap Arrangements in the Provision of Affordable Housing.

In July 2012, the High Court awarded €32.6 million to a firm of house builders arising from a land swap agreement. The case arose because the State was unable to deliver vacant possession of a site at Harcourt Terrace, on time, in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The Committee will be keen to establish the current value of the site at Harcourt Terrace, plans for its development or disposal and the scale of unforeseen costs which the State must bear as a result of the land swap deal not being completed in line with the legal agreement; The value of the discount on the 215 units was valued at €31.2 million and we will be keen to ascertain the value of the units on the open market at the same date that the discount value of €31.2 million was determined. The Committee may wish to tease out the matter of why vacant possession was not available in 2008, as agreed, and why difficulties in providing it were not anticipated at the outset of the agreement. In 2006, OPW warned the Department that delivering vacant possession in line with the proposed timescale would be difficult. We will also want to determine what legal advice was obtained by OPW and the Department and if an out of court settlement could have been reached which may have been more favourable for the State.

In relation to the OPW, reference was made in both the Statement on Internal Financial Control and the C&AG’s Audit Certificate to an instance of a contract in excess of €500,000, which was not compliant with procurement guidelines. The Committee may wish to establish how this instance arose, particularly in light of OPW’s involvement in the National Procurement Service.
Among the other issues of interest for the Committee are the National Convention Centre, for which capital cost of the PPP project is accounted for through the OPW Vote, and whether targets set for delegate numbers and estimates of economic activity are being met. Decentralisation and the current position on disposing or otherwise using sites procured by OPW for the decentralisation project could also be on the agenda, along with the OPW’s functions in the management of the leases which it holds such as vacant space, leases surrendered and current costs. New models for funding public buildings, currently being examined by OPW, could also be discussed. The Committee could also examine OPW’s heritage services such as visitor numbers and strategies in operation to encourage visitors.”

This meeting will start in Committee Room 1 at 10am on Thursday, 30th January 2014.

Committee proceedings can be followed live here. 

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Committee of Public Accounts Membership
 
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Áine Collins
Gerald Nash,
Simon Harris,
Michael McCarthy,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross