Temporary security gate at Leinster House cost almost €14,000 — and made TDs late

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín accused the OPW of 'incinerating taxpayer money for the sake of gimmicks for TDs'. Picture: Brian Lawless

A temporary security gate leading to the Leinster House smoking area, which it is claimed made TDs late for votes, cost nearly €14,000 before it was removed.

A reply issued by the Department of Public Expenditure to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, shows €13,940 was spent on a "temporary fully operational security solution" while the controversial €1.4m security hut was being built on the grounds of Leinster House / the Department of Finance.

The department said the Office of Public Works (OPW) had informed it that while works were ongoing to install "a new security pavilion on the South Road entrance to the Government Buildings complex, it was necessary to put in place a temporary, fully operational security solution to ensure that the security of the complex was maintained at all times".

Mr Tóibín said that the gate was both "extremely expensive and incredibly flawed" and had been removed quickly.

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"Not only this, but it was incredibly flawed — once a person exited the turnstyle with their fob, nobody could enter in the opposite direction for a period of a few minutes," he said.

"In some cases, this delayed TDs from getting to Dáil votes on time.

The Aontú leader said that "many TDs were frustrated by this, and I suspect this may be part of the reason why the gate was removed so quickly".

"I am frustrated that it took the minister three weeks to respond to my parliamentary question, and that I've only received a response after I took to social media complaining about the delay," he said. 

"I imagine the reason why they were slow to respond is because the answer to this question would have revealed the fact that monies were spent on the security hut".

"The security hut cost €1.4m. It's amazing to think that another solution — a turnstile gate — was not considered as a permanant alternative to the hut. The gate they purchased was far too expensive. 

Mr Tóibín accused the OPW of "incinerating taxpayer money for the sake of gimmicks for TDs".

The department's response detailed how the "turnstile was supplied and installed as part of the security pavilion works and the cost, including associated electrical wiring, interfacing with fire and security systems, was €13,940".