Shay Brennan Questions Costs, Procurement and Heritage Visits
Shay Brennan pressed departmental officials on staffing in the Infrastructure Division, unexplained cost increases at the State Laboratory, building and IT spending linked to the EU presidency, and rising visitor numbers at heritage sites. He sought clarification on the integration of 13 construction-policy staff from the Office of Government Procurement and on specific unforeseen charges captured in revised estimates.
Staffing in the Infrastructure Division
Shay Brennan asked whether the Infrastructure Division's 50 to 60 staff count included 13 construction-policy personnel transferred from the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). Officials said the 13 are involved in the capital works managing framework and practical construction-policy feedback, and that integrating the OGP component supports planned infrastructure reforms and improvements in procurement and competitive tendering.
State Laboratory cost increases
Brennan queried substantial supplementary costs at the State Laboratory. Officials described increased spending on laboratory consumables, equipment service contracts and an unforeseen essential IT project, with some inflationary impacts on gas, electricity and on‑premises expenses.
EU presidency building and IT spend
He asked about two revised figures - roughly £4.1 million for building upgrades and £1.5 million for IT - and why such costs arose late in the process given the upcoming EU presidency. Officials said most of the building upgrade money is for works at Dublin Castle connected to presidency requirements and long-term conservation of the castle, while IT and teleconferencing upgrades are also driven by presidency needs.
CCEI-EU grant query
Brennan raised a question about a £149,000 CCEI-EU grant captured in the estimates. Officials did not have the full detail on the grant at the sitting and said they would provide further information to the committee.
Heritage site visitor growth
He asked about the rise in visitors to heritage sites and which sites were improving most. Officials reported that increases were broad-based, citing 15 million visitors last year, and pointed to initiatives such as free Wednesdays and free admission for under-12s as drivers of family and youth attendance, alongside investment in site upkeep and guides.
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Gourmet Gourth Kihirlik, maybe first to Minister Chambers, a couple of very brief questions and partially following up on what Deputy Nash was inquiring about. You mentioned 60 employees, 50 to 60 employees in the Infrastructure Division. Does that include the 13? Yeah. That includes the 13. Okay. And then references made to the 13 being construction policy staff. It seems vague-ish. Could you expand on that? So in the Office of Government Procurement, there's staff involved in the capital works managing framework and involved in the wider work in terms of the construction sector relating to the Office of Government Procurement. And as part of the infrastructure reforms, which will be advancing next year, there'll be a significant element of reform to how procurement operates in the infrastructure area. And that's why integrating that component of the OGP was important. But there's also wider work within the department to better integrate the Office of Government Procurement into the department. But because of the establishment of the Infrastructure Division, the personnel actually in the construction policy side and those involved in the capital works managing framework have played a really important role in giving practical feedback about some of the difficulties. market access, market access, which we'd hear from SMEs, and from competitive tendering, which we need to improve in infrastructure delivery. And they've had a positive input into the infrastructure reform agenda. And that was the purpose of their role, being integrated into the department. Okay, thanks. Just moving to the State Laboratory for a second. So there's reasonably substantial additional costs there. You're right in saying that they're unforeseen and therefore in the revised estimates. Could you expand on that a little bit? Yeah, so the, I mean, what significant increase in costs for laboratory consumables and laboratory equipment service contracts, which have arisen. And obviously, a lot of this work is operational in the State Laboratory. And also, an IT, what I've been told, an unforeseen essential IT project, which is a core part of their wider work as a State Laboratory. So a lot of that is demand-driven. And that was reflected in the additional supplementary estimate. Are they inflationary costs? Some of them are, yeah, in terms of the, on gas and electricity, it were. Yeah, there was additional costs there as well. Okay. And on-pay premises expenses, yeah. Yeah, okay. A final one for yourself, Minister. The CCEI-EU grant, what is that for $149,000? The, it's, it's for, I have to get that checked exactly what it, yeah, I'll revert on that. But it's a, obviously there's $0.149 million has been captured in that, but I'll get further detail for the committee on that specific grant. Yeah, okay, appreciate it. Thanks. Mr. Morton, can I ask you about the building upgrades, the $4.1 million? These relate, I understand, to the EU presidency, as does a trigger of $1.5 in IT spend. Sorry, Andrew. Sorry, there's two revised figures of increased spending. One is in building upgrades, and one is in IT projects, and they're both, Dan, as relating to Ireland's presidency of the EU. Could I ask you two questions there? One is, can you elaborate a little bit on the building upgrades? That does seem a substantial, substantial figure. And secondly, maybe just to get an understanding as to how such an unforeseen figure arises, given that, obviously, we knew that we would have the EU presidency, and it just seems to be late in the day to be looking at buildings to see if they're fit for purpose. No, there's a lot of work in relation to Dublin Castle, in relation to the bulk of that money, and also teleconference through the IT section. It's all very important to the EU presidency that's coming upon us, so that's where most of the bulk of the money has come from. Yeah, it wasn't provided in the original estimate. So most of the 4.1 would be in Dublin Castle? Yeah. Okay, and is there any specific works that are taking out of money? It is. Where we've moved, we're doing up the castle. Okay, and is there any specific works that are taking out of money? It is. Where we've moved, we're doing up the castle. I suppose long term, it's huge state value to the castle going forward, and a future approach to the castle for the next 100 years. And this work is necessary, but it's also important to the EU presidency. Okay, thanks. Maybe just a final area to touch on with you, if I may. The heritage sites. Obviously, it's very welcome to note the increase in visitors. I want to ask you, first, if you can comment on what's driving the increase in visitors. And secondly, if you can perhaps point to which of the heritage sites are seeing the biggest improvement. Well, first of all, I'd say all our heritage sites are seeing significant numbers. And I suppose it's down to a lot of people who want to see the heritage, a lot of people are turning back to the heritage sites. And last year alone, we had 15 million visitors to our heritage sites. When they talk about tourism being down, this is a huge stepstone in the right direction, I think. We can even grow further. But we do, as we say, spend a lot of money in our sites and keep them up to date. But also, we have very good guides, very good staff. And I suppose where you have that, people tend to go there, and particularly tourists of all ages like to see that. And we've seen major improvement over the years, but particularly with the numbers growing, it's very welcome. So the increase is across the board. And as I said, it's obviously very welcome to see the increase in visitors. Are there any initiatives from your department driving that? Well, we have a number of initiatives. Like we have the free Wednesdays. We also have the under-12s that are free. And that is a big driver to the young kids. It's something I brought in the last time. But it's something that the parents come along with the kids, and it's a key part of the whole thing. And the pensioners, there's a big deal in relation to pensioners as well, which is very, very important that people want to go and see that. I suppose some of our projects, see, they've been transformed in terms of upgrades and that, and people just keep coming back. And there's a good feel factor about the whole thing. Yeah, good to hear. Okay, thank you both.
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