OPW to be probed by Oireachtas spending watchdog on Leinster House bike shed

The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard on Thursday morning that politicians were not “prepared to stand by anymore and allow officials make decisions” that impact them at election time

The Office of Public Works (OPW) will be probed by the Dáil’s spending watchdog next month over its €336,000 bike shed.

The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard on Thursday morning that politicians were not “prepared to stand by anymore and allow officials make decisions” that impact them at election time. The cost of the €336,000 bike shed has caused scandal in Leinster House in recent weeks amid ongoing questions about how the glass and steel structure was so expensive.

Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin TD and PAC Chairman, said the committee would be requesting a briefing on the cost of work and work associated with the project. They will also ask for “all documentation related to the contract, or contracts for design, planning and construction of the bike stand, a breakdown of the totality of costs associated with the installation and a timeline for the concept to delivery”.

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The PAC will also ask for “a schedule of decision makers and managers working on the project”, a copy of the business case and value for money report, and also details on “issues that may have risen in relation to the type of contract or framework agreement where there were security implications”.

Mr Stanley said the OPW will be invited to a meeting on October 10 and this will coincide with a report that will be received by the Comptroller and Auditor General in the coming weeks which he stated will “hopefully” contain more information on the matter.

Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe said the meeting needed to establish who the decision makers who oversaw the €336,000 bike shed were. “Rightly or wrongly, the public believes that when works take place in this house, they believe that there is some political oversight of those works and of the costs associated with it,” he said.

“The facts that have been put in the media so far seem to indicate that this was a decision made entirely within the OPW itself. But I think we have to explore that. We have to find out who the decision-makers were. If there was no involvement or sign-off by elected members of this, we need to ask that question – Why?

“It is a flaw in the system that works can take place in this building [Leinster House] and that there can be no political oversight of that. We have to be proportionate here. €335,000 in the context of what we deal with here week in, week out, is a very small amount. But it strikes to the heart of people's confidence in how the State spends money. Unless we're able to satisfy the concerns of people on this project, people will not have confidence in the State of any political colour in spending money elsewhere.”

Mr McAuliffe said that the public “wanted accountability” and were “really, really angry about this”. He added: “The people who will pay the price will be at an election, will be the politicians who [it] would appear had no hand act or part of this. I don't think any member of this house is prepared to stand by anymore and allow officials make decisions that actually then come back and impact us.”

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