Office of Public Works Priorities and Progress: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19 ============================================================ Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel Thankfully, I have time to congratulate Armagh on its win in the Ulster Senior Football Championship on Sunday after a titanic struggle with Monaghan. It is our first title in 18 years, which is being greatly celebrated at home. I hope the GAA takes note of the continued importance of the provincial championships, not just to footballers but also to fans, because their significance seems to have been diminished in recent years in the context of the organisation of the all-Ireland championships. The provincial titles are clearly still of great importance to all Gaels. The Minister of State is very welcome. Like others, I recognise the good work being done by the OPW across numerous projects and the technical expertise displayed by its staff in restoring and maintaining heritage sites and other buildings. One example is Kilmainham Gaol, of whose significance people will know. It is a national monument now but for decades it was left in a state of disrepair. Without the sterling efforts of numerous volunteers and the petitioning of the Government to take control of the site, it might have fallen into complete disrepair. Since it was taken over in the 1980s, the OPW has done a great job renovating and maintaining it, as evidenced by the huge number of visitors each year. I had an opportunity to visit a number of years ago. There is a fascinating history of Ireland, not just political but also social, contained within the site. There is no doubt that very good work is done by the OPW across the State. There are, unfortunately, examples of failures of governance. The Committee of Public Accounts, PAC, has, on numerous occasions, raised persistent issues regarding the scale of cost overruns on major projects. Whether the projects are flood relief schemes, heritage restorations or major capital projects, the story is quite similar: underestimated budgets, shifting scopes and costs spiralling far beyond what was originally approved. These overruns represent real money diverted from other priorities, such as schools, hospitals and front-line services. The PAC has also repeatedly highlighted procurement non-compliance within the OPW. Procurement rules exist to protect the taxpayer and ensure fairness. When they are not adhered to, confidence in public administration is undermined. Another recurring theme is weak project planning and governance. The OPW has technical expertise, which nobody doubts, but PAC hearings show that this expertise is not matched by the financial and managerial discipline required for major capital delivery. The committee has also raised serious concerns about property leasing and rental management, with the State being locked into long, expensive leases and sometimes paying above market rents for years. The Minister of State will have a full agenda for the length of his tenure, but I hope that he will address some of those issues over the course of his time in office. In his opening address, one of the first matters the Minister of State referred to was the progress made in relation to the Moore Street project, which has gone to tender stage. I remind him of my colleague Teachta Aengus Ó Snodaigh's cultural quarter Bill, which was supported by the Dáil and which mandates the Government to protect the Moore Street battlefield area. The latter includes Moore Street, Henry Place, O'Rahilly Parade and Moore Lane. I hope that this project will then be treated with the respect it deserves in the context of the potential of the area to be a cultural quarter for that part of Dublin. God knows, O'Connell Street and other places on the other side of the river could do with some support and a boost in terms of tourism and development. This is a significant opportunity, and the matter comes under the Minister of State's remit. I hope that the Minister of State and the Government will support the Bill in question, which, as I said, was supported in the Dáil and the purpose of which is to protect that area of Dublin and make sure - as has been the case with other monuments and sites of national importance, whether they date back through the ages or are from our more recent revolutionary history - that this site is protected. We have numerous examples of the value of sites of this nature, not just in terms of tourism but also for educating young people in Ireland. I will leave that with the Minister of State. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-19/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-19