Irish Examiner view: We cannot afford to waste public funds

Government cannot plead an inability to provide more money to sectors where it is needed while overseeing needless overspend

In Cork, Abbeycourt House on George's Quay has cost the OPW €325,000 to rent so far this year. File picture: Larry Cummins

The amount of money being ploughed into rental properties across the country by the Office of Public Works (OPW) — estimated to have been €31m so far this year alone — has to be the subject of a value-for-money review.

The Government is under enormous pressure ahead of this year’s budget to rationalise spending and ensure State finances are not being squandered, with pressure being brought to bear for increased spending in areas such as the health, housing, infrastructure, and prison systems.

And with social welfare recipients and pensioners adding their voices to demands being put forward, there must be an emphasis on avoiding unnecessary waste of public money on premises that are not fit for purpose.

Despite having bulging pockets thanks to the tax-take from multinationals, Government is well aware that that this bonanza cannot and will not last forever.

A focus on securing the best bang-for-buck scenario within the OPW’s leased property portfolio is therefore necessary.

A total of 80 government departments are currently housed in rented properties, including the Workplace Relations Commission, the Children’s Ombudsman, the Coast Guard, Met Éireann, the Gambling Regulator, and the Mental Health Commission. Other entities, from An Garda Síochána, Revenue, Social Protection and the Probation Service, occupy multiple leased properties across the country.

As it stands, some 60% of the office space managed by the OPW is State-owned with the other 40% leased.

But there are documented incidents where money has literally fallen through the cracks.

Between May 2019 and May 2024, some €7.9m was paid to the owners of a building, despite the intended occupancy by the Department of Foreign Affairs not being taken up due to “delays with fit-out work.”

This and many other examples are patently unacceptable and accountability has to be ensured, whether it be via an annual value-for-money analysis or some other form of system checks.

Government simply cannot plead an inability to provide more money to sectors where it is patently needed when it is overseeing needless overspend on empty buildings.

Why do we ignore rules of the road?

It seems absurd to note that between January 2020 and June 2026 there were nearly 50,000 people in this country arrested for drink or drug driving.

Set alongside the country’s increasing road death figures — 117 this year so far — it seems incomprehensible that so many Irish people are still prepared to risk their own lives and those of others by knowingly driving while intoxicated.

Last year saw the highest number of roads deaths here in a decade. This year has been even worse.And yet the blithe willingness by many to ignore what is not only common sense, but also the law of the land, is striking.

During the first half of this year an average of one driver was arrested by An Garda Síochána every hour of every day for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

That’s a total of 4,600 arrests between January 1 and June 30.

During the same period, 119,000 fixed charge notices were issued for speeding, 14,500 for using a mobile phone while driving, and more than 3,000 for failing to wear a seatbelt.

On top of that, gardaí seized over 18,000 vehicles in instances where drivers were found to have no insurance, no VRT/CVRT certification, or where they were found to be an unaccompanied learner driver.

These figures suggest two things: Firstly, that too many people think they are beyond the law; and, secondly, that the penalties are not stringent enough to stop people behaving as they are.

A third — and possibly more worrying factor — is that the forces of law do not have the number of personnel necessary to enforce existing legislation stringently enough.

We have a crisis on our roads, and do not appear to have either the will or resources to stop it.

Trump's vilification of Fauci rings hollow

A US senate committee last week voted to hold Dr Anthony S Fauci, the doctor who led the country’s covid response, in contempt of congress for declining to answer questions.

During a hearing of the senate homeland security committee, Dr Fauci continually invoked his right under the Fifth Amendment not to answer any questions during a three-hour session.

Republicans on the panel, led by its chairman, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, tried to insist that Dr Fauci was not entitled to Fifth Amendment protection as a result of an unconditional pardon granted to him by president Joe Biden.

In an overtly political manoeuvre, the Republicans are trying to vilify the medic, and have accused him of funding research that led to the creation of covid and of lying to congress about it under oath.

They have also tried to hold him responsible for school lockdowns, mask and vaccine mandates, and other covid-era restrictions imposed by different states, communities, and employers.

Since 2022, Republicans have been trying to vilify the 85-year-old, who has advised seven US presidents, served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases for 38 years, and became known as ‘America’s doctor.’

But this latest attempt to vilify Fauci rings hollow in an America now facing some its worst public health crises in decades. It is little more than a crude political stunt designed to apportion blame for the impacts of the pandemic anywhere but with the response of Trump’s administration, widely criticised at the time for being ineffective and out of touch.

Trump awarded Fauci a medal during his first term, before turning on him and suggesting he be prosecuted, but now he and his allies are trying to bury the doctor in an attempt to disguise their own failures.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here