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OPW PAC hearing is up and running. C&AG Seamus McCarthy has just given his rundown of the OPW vote, including the bald facts regarding this story in the @irishexaminer earlier today. You can follow updates here! https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40080083.html
There have been a number of stories we've carried re the OPW in the last couple of days. This, re the Miesian Plaza overpayment, is another: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40079279.html
Commissioner of the OPW Maurice Buckley is giving his opening statement. Previous OPW appearance at PAC in October 2018 was a gruelling six hours which raised all sorts of questions of the body, many of which have yet to be answered
You can read that here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/committee_of_public_accounts/2018-10-11/
Stay tuned, is likely to be an interesting one
We're straight into the Miesian Plaza overpayment. Buckley says it has been a "great success". But acknowledges the measurement error made which led to the €10 million cumulative overpayment. Says OPW continues to engage with the landlord, Remley Developments
Remleys is owned by Larry Goodman
"This will not go away. I intend to make sure the public is done right by with regard to this situation," Buckley says
Cormac Devlin asks about the lease surrounding the Garda HQ on Harcourt Square, due to expire at end 2022. He asks how long the lease is. Should gardaí not vacate as at that time there is a substantial penalty to be paid, the details of which have yet to enter the public domain
Cost of lease is €6 million per year, says assistant secretary Martin Bourke
Matt Carthy asking about the measure term contract with PJ Hegarty for the maintenance of properties, which saw payments made totalling four times the contract value between 2014 and 2018
"When there's an emergency, a building emergency, sometimes things have to be done quickly in the most cost effective way," says Buckley. Adds that it had not been intended to use the contract in that way
"We're certainly confident that the works carried out were very good value," Buckley says. Says that construction inflation at the start of the decade ensured that was the case
"The contract was correct, just it wasn't used in the way it was supposed to have been," he says
Carthy asks about fact new contract is worth €5 million per annum, yet payment in 2019 alone was €35 million. John McMahon of OPW states this was a "disappointing return"
"How is it possible to evaluate a contract tender when there is nothing to compare it to?" asks Carthy
"Absolutely the best value was attained at the time," says McMahon of the 2019 renegotiation
We're back to the Garda development on Military Road, a development with an €80 million budget. AGS leaving Harcourt Square is predicated on that development completing on time
Cost is now €86 million says Maurice Buckley. Says it'll be ready for third quarter 2022. Says that there is a contingency plan if that deadline isn't met, but that the contingency isn't in the same building
"If there is a crisis in vacating Harcourt Square we can put in place temporary accommodation and minimise the distruption for the gardaí"
Buckley says that the final figure for the redevelopment of the Leinster House complex was €18 million against a budget of €11 million. Says in his opinion that development would not have been done as well for such value for money in any other country
Marc MacSharry asks about rent reviews on Miesian Plaza, which he suggests are consumer price index-dependent, ie they'll only ever go up
"I do acknowledge that there was a €344k per annum difference in the rent," says Buckley. "That topic is under discussion with the landlord. There have been lots of discussions and engagement with the landlord."
"The rent review is an opportunity to engage with the landlord." "The reality is that this money is gone, Mr Buckley? You have no legal recourse?" asks MacSharry
"Legally we have strong advice that we do," says Buckley. "We're still in discussions, and where there's goodwill on both sides, and I see there is, then something can be done. I don't accept that the money is gone"
A bit of a head scratcher, Buckley describes the overpayment issue as taking "the shine off an excellent project". "It would be like being 3 goals ahead in football and conceding an own goal just at the end."
Says that MacSharry is focusing on one small piece of a successful project, says that it had taken three attempts to move the Dept Health out of its old Hawkins House HQ
Regarding the construction of flood relief schemes, Buckley says all at the OPW are well aware that the issue is a key one for many people
Fine Gael TD Colm Burke mentions that €2 million has been spent on the Glashaboy scheme in his own Cork North Central constituency without any construction having taken place
OPW commissioner John Sydenham says that the scheme is currently on its 3rd environmental impact study. "This work is complex," he says, adding that everyone is conscious of the time-sensitive nature of this work
Other TDs - Brian Stanley and Alan Dillon - have raised the same issue in their own constituencies
Catherine Murphy raises the issue of Fair Green building in Galway, which also was subject to miscalculated rent, at a cost of €144,000 per year. Has that been rectified she asks
"It was long before my time, it was documented, I'll check the status and come back to you," Buckley replies
MacSharry reads a series of questions into the record just before hearing ends. One is re Hammond Lane, the site of the prospective new family courts complex. That was expected to be the focus of much of today's hearing. Instead, this is its first mention
