Ability of OPW questioned after report

MEMBERS of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday questioned whether the Office of Public Works (OPW) was capable of managing the Government’s decentralisation programme.

After a PAC report accused the OPW of wasting millions of taxpayer’s money on flawed property deals, Fianna Fáil committee member John McGuinness broke ranks to openly challenge junior Finance Minister Tom Parlon.

According to the PAC report, details of which were first revealed in Monday’s Irish Examiner, more than €19m has been wasted and €23m overspent at the OPW.

In particular, the damning PAC report criticised the manner in which €19m was spent on five properties to house asylum seekers that were never used.

In addition, the report criticises escalating costs in the construction of the €26m Cork Courthouse and spiralling costs for a Probation and Welfare Service office in Dublin.

Mr Parlon, as the minister responsible for the OPW, rejected the PAC’s findings that public money had been wasted on unused property bought to house asylum seekers.

“I’m not saying every business transaction we do is brilliant ... but to focus on five of the worst ones and say that’s typical of how we do our business would be grossly unfair,” he said.

However, Mr McGuinness said it would be “foolish” of any department not to take on board the recommendations of the PAC to ensure public funding was not wasted in the future.

Mr McGuinness also questioned if the OPW could properly look after the €1bn in office space it was currently charged with managing for the Government’s decentralisation programme.

“I don’t believe we got it wrong. If that’s Tom’s position in order to deal with the problem, you have to take your head out of the sand and recognise the problem,” he said.

The PAC chairman also criticised Mr Parlon’s defence of the OPW deals.

“The Parlon defence is the defence that, because we don’t make mistakes every week, we’re great fellows ... it isn’t the kind of defence I’d like to go into the High Court on,” he said.

The row also created tensions between some committee members as Fianna Fáil deputy Sean Ardagh refused to back Mr McGuinness, saying the OPW had successfully made hundreds of other good value property transactions.

Urging the OPW to take note of the report’s recommendations, Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle said there had been “a considerable inappropriate use of public money” because of “a huge lack of pre-planning”.

Among its many recommendations, the PAC report calls on the OPW to tighten its financial management procedures and draw up new codes of practice for property deals.