Author: Ken Foxe

Construction on Leinster House’s controversial €336,000 bicycle shelter had to be paused after a large manhole was ‘discovered’ on site that was not spotted when drawing up site plans.

The OPW told contractors to stop work in the vicinity after “the uncovering of a significant piece of below ground drainage infrastructure” along with the two-foot-wide manhole.

A note of a site visit in August 2023 said the discovery meant the OPW would need to reexamine the structure of the bicycle shelter and whether any changes were needed.

It said: “Please now fully cordon off the area around manhole with barriers and place hazard warning signage to note associated risks. Please also notify all site operatives of this site exclusion zone.”

The delay caused angst within the Office of Public Works who said the entire summer recess of the Dáil had “now been missed” for carrying out works on the bicycle shelter.

An email said: “For context – in the past OPW were not permitted to work outside these recess periods and the flexibility on site has been hard won over the years by tight management and actively delivering projects.

“With increased security concerns and the visibility of these projects – this flexibility can be rescinded at any time by Leinster House.”

The message, sent in September 2023, said delivery of the bicycle shelter was now critical and sought urgent updates on progress.

They asked that contractors “confirm without further delay” how to deal with issues around the foundations and whether it would affect an adjoining wall.

The email said: “This needs to be fully resolved and instruction to start for Friday with the approved option so that ground works can start on Saturday.”

They also asked for an update on when granite would be delivered for the site and a final date for delivery of the bicycle shelter.

It said: “Fully completed bicycle shelter must be returned to Leinster House on 14^th January [2024].”

Delays on the project continued however, and the bike shed was not available for use until several months later.

The records were only released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws.

The OPW had claimed they held no documents that dealt with either delays or cost overruns on the project but were told to reconsider that decision.

In an information note, they said the €336,000 project was covered under the “Maintenance and Minor Works Framework” for delivery of certain projects.

The note said: “[The framework] has the flexibility to accommodate stopping and starting of works based on (a) discovery of unknown issues on site and (b) operations of the Houses of the Oireachtas. “The [framework] allows for closure of site at short notice without incurring delay claims and costs for stoppages, which would be part of the standard public works contract.”

A group of people with disabilities who were invited to Leinster House to deliver training on accessibility ended up “trapped” and “embarrassed” after a lift broke down in the parliamentary complex.

The organisation, which provides disability awareness training, said they were “astonished” at how inaccessible Leinster House was after their disastrous visit to Dublin last year.

In an email, they described supposedly accessible toilets that weren’t large enough to cater for wheelchairs, buses being refused access to drop off people with mobility issues, and a broken-down lift that left five members “stranded.”

They told the head of the Oireachtas that members were stuck on a corridor and “very embarrassed” as able-bodied people had to “edge” their way past them on their way to offices or lunch.

A message said: “From the moment of our arrival, we encountered barriers and exclusion.”

The visit was made by members of the HSE Gold Star Disability Awareness Training programme and volunteers from Tipperary last June on the invitation of an Oireachtas member.

In the email, they said the room where they delivered their training session was inaccessible on “a number of disability access levels.”

Then, when members were trying to go downstairs to the restaurant, one lift broke down and another was discovered to be out of service.

The email said: “The lift to offer access to the lower corridor en route to the restaurant broke down when we had five people safely down, leaving others stranded at the top.

“Once these five people tried to continue to access the restaurant, they were met with a note on the second lift that said, ‘Temporarily Out of Order’.”

The message continued: “Every person there was tired, embarrassed, disappointed, hungry and let down once more in terms of their rights to universal access and the dignity of using a toilet privately.”

The IDA said Ireland was losing ground to other EU countries and the United States because of the high cost of energy.

In a series of briefings for the government, the investment agency said strong security of power supply was “imperative” for enticing companies into Ireland.

It said the operating environment for foreign direct investment was becoming more difficult, more aggressive, and with a “relentless focus on competitiveness.”

The IDA briefing said that traditional drivers of investment like market access, tax, and talent were still important.

However, it added: “New drivers such as digital/green, subsidies/incentives, and friendly nation status make the environment more complex.

“Adding to the challenge for IDA in sustaining/winning investments are constraints to the carrying capacity of Ireland’s economy and utilities – which are causing significant delay, backlogs and reputation risks to winning new investments.”

The briefings were prepared last summer for the Department of the Environment as the investment agency warned Ireland’s financial position was heavily dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI).

The Rotunda Hospital has been told to make a new decision about documents on a property they purchased after it emerged they quoted extracts from the Freedom of Information Act that do not exist.

Right to Know had been looking for records on a property bought by the hospital at Cavendish Row in Dublin.

At internal review, the Rotunda refused access to the records using ‘Section 30’ of the FOI Act.

However, the text they used appears nowhere in the legislation, and its source is unknown.

A decision from the Information Commissioner (OIC) said: “The FOI body’s reference to exemption provisions which do not appear within the FOI Act serves to fundamentally undermine its position.”

During the review, it also emerged that despite repeated requests for a focused submission, the Rotunda did not respond to the OIC.

You can read a copy of the full decision below.

A former senior executive at Ryanair called for an “immediate prohibition” on any new management consultancy contracts for the HSE.

Michael Cawley, the ex-deputy CEO of the airline, said €70 million had been spent on these contracts in 2024 and a “detailed report on the benefits, if any” of that spending should be provided.

In an email to colleagues and the chief executive of the HSE, Mr Cawley – who serves on the HSE board – said that following an analysis of the health service budget, he had identified potential annual savings of up to €300 million.

Targets included the “over prescribing [and] excess supply” of some medications and properties that were lying idle.

He also said all letter correspondence should be eliminated and that patients, suppliers, and others be contacted via email or text.

Mr Cawley said that cutting costs would take people “out of their comfort zone” but that savings could be made while delivering better services to patients.

He wrote: “The reallocation of resources needs to become an everyday, core activity of the HSE. This can only happen if there is full unreasonable commitment from management.”

Asked about the email, which was sent in late January, a HSE spokesperson said: “This record must be understood as it was intended; suggestions by a board member for consideration by the CEO around a wide range of issues in relation to areas of potential cost savings. It must be noted that this does not constitute decisions.

“The welcome input from the board member was one of many engagements by the CEO as he sought inputs on areas to maximise savings across the health service.”

A community swimming pool that was expected to cost less than €13 million has already cost nearly €18 million and even though construction began in 2019, it is still not open.

The pool facility in Lucan in West Dublin has been dogged by delays with the final cost of the project now expected to rise to around €20 million.

When it was originally costed in 2017, South Dublin County Council expected the final bill to be around €12.985 million.

A project schedule from the time said that once the contract was awarded, it should only take fourteen months to construct.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic, severe weather, and a variety of other issues have seen the project go way beyond schedule with completion dates pushed back at least a dozen times.

A series of updates to queries from councillors show how the opening day for the swimming pool and leisure centre kept shifting.

In late 2020, a local representative was told the handover date was meant to be February 2021, but that this had been moved back to June 2021.

An update said: “The project has been significantly delayed due firstly to poor weather conditions in the early part of 2020 and then the enforced closure of the site for a number of weeks during the COVID-19 national lockdown.”

In late 2021, another councillor was given an update saying the completion date was now likely to be in April or May of 2022.

That date then got pushed to August 2022 though even that proved hopelessly optimistic.

Local Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin asked in January 2023 when the pool was likely to be open and was told June 2023 was now the target and that this was “very disappointing” to the council.

A letter to him said: “As you will be aware the project has been impacted significantly by various construction sector challenges.”

By last year, the project still wasn’t complete with councillors told in August 2024 that the local authority was still working with the contractor to “agree a revised programme.”

In February of this year, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin again sought an update and was told more resources were being provided to “expedite project completion.”

A letter to him said: “The council understands both the importance of this project to the local community and the frustration that the delays have caused.”

An update to councillors in January said: “Completion of the project continues to be challenging, primarily; as noted previously, due to contractor resources and sub-contractor availability.

“[We are] continuing to intensively manage the project and main contractor to achieve the earliest possible completion dates.”

South Dublin County Council had originally refused to provide details of how much they had so far spent on the project.

However, following an appeal under FOI laws, they disclosed that costs so far were €17.87 million, which included €15.7 million in payments to the main contractor.

Dublin Port Company has been told it must release documents it holds on discussions over payment of the vacant site levy to Dublin City Council.

Using Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations, Right to Know had sought copies of all correspondence between the port operator and the local authority about the levy, which is intended to bring idle land into use for housing.

Dublin Port Company said the records were not environmental but the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI) has ruled in our favour.

It’s a useful decision for anybody who is planning to make requests for information around planning, development land, dereliction, or land hoarding.

It also highlights again the usefulness of the AIE Regulations in accessing information from public bodies that are exempt from the FOI Act.

This includes most of the semi-state agencies like Coillte, Bord na Móna, the DAA, and the Irish Aviation Authority.

You can find a full list of them at this link.

An Garda Síochána has been told to release all records they hold about providing incorrect figures to the Department of Justice on policing strength.

Last year, An Garda made a formal apology to the then-Justice Minister Helen McEntee after providing data that appeared to show a sudden jump in the number of gardaí stationed in her constituency.

The Department of Justice, which provided the information in a parliamentary question, subsequently had to withdraw it.

In the wake of that, Right to Know sought copies of all records held by An Garda on how the incorrect figures had been provided and the fallout from it.

Under legislation, the gardaí are only subject to FOI in an extremely limited way for matters relating to finance, procurement, and human resources.

Unlike in other countries, all information relating to operational policing or for example, crime figures is entirely off-limits.

Even with that, An Garda sought to exempt documents on this controversy saying the FOI Act did not apply to them even though they related directly to human resources.

A summary of their position said: “[An Garda] says the provision of information to the Department for the purposes of replying to PQs is not an administrative matter relating to human resources, finance, or procurement, rather it is a statutory obligation under section 40 of the Garda Síochána Act.”

We argued that a blanket exemption like this could not be applied and each record should have been assessed on its merits.

We also queried why An Garda had not supplied a schedule of records, as is considered best practice under the FOI Act.

The Information Commissioner found in our favour saying: “I do not accept the proposition that if records which relate to administrative matters concerning human resources are provided pursuant to a statutory duty they cease to be human resources records for the purposes of FOI.”

A failed driving test applicant began punching walls and kicked a door while another unleashed a volley of abuse at a tester for refusing to conduct an exam in a car that stank of cigarettes.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said since the beginning of last year they’ve recorded 85 accidents involving driving tests, 15 near-miss events, and 38 cases involving abuse of staff.

On five separate occasions, gardaí had to be called to investigate, including one serious incident where two testers received threatening letters to their home.

The RSA also said there had been multiple cases where a failed candidate had made “accusations of racism” according to a log of incidents they provided under FOI.

A report on one incident earlier this year said a test candidate had become verbally abusive after being told they had failed.

An account of it said: “Tester proceeded to write out the statement of test outcome and when it was handed it to the applicant it was scrunched it up and started shouting and using abusive language towards tester again.

“Tester got up and walked away again, but this time [the] applicant landed punches on the walls and kicked the door.”

There were other dangerous incidents out on the road including one candidate who turned the wrong direction into oncoming traffic right beside a test centre.

“Another driver had to take avoiding action to avoid a collision,” said a note of the incident.

In another case, a tester had to intervene after a child was almost hit by an applicant while another staff member complained of a near catastrophic accident.

The Justice Minister was briefed that a €159,000 deportation operation would be cloaked in secrecy so that asylum seekers would not flee their homes or make last-gasp legal challenges.

A briefing for Jim O’Callaghan said a planned charter flight to Georgia would be challenging especially in finding and detaining the individuals identified.

The minister was told word was already spreading that people were being taken into custody with others already “evading as news of the detentions to date emerges into the public domain.”

Mr O’Callaghan was also informed there was a significant risk of legal challenge though none had been received by the time of the briefing on 20 February.

The document said: “It is expected that once the departure date becomes clear, these [legal challenges] will be lodged in the form of last-minute injunction applications.”

It said there was also a chance that deportees would use a backdoor route to reapply for asylum under international protection legislation.

The briefing explained: “The relevant unit … has been briefed and is on alert to process such applications as soon as possible with a view to ensuring that those making applications without merit continue to be available for the flight.”

The minister was told that the one-way cost of the flight would be around €102,500 with further costs of €11,590 for a team of paramedics to go with the deportees.

There would also be other costs for baggage, “light pre-flight refreshments” and ground handling services.

However, officials said it would not make sense for garda escort officers to return on a separate charter flight, which could have cost as much as €170,000.

Instead, standard flights would be booked for them bringing the total cost of the operation in late February to around €159,000.

The briefing also documented in detail the preparations as the department delayed informing even the prison authorities about their plans.

It said: “Twenty-eight potential passengers are now in detention. None as yet have challenged their detention.

“Information dissemination on the scheduling of the flight has been restricted to what is necessary. Cloverhill Prison, where the detainees are held, will be notified on Monday 24 February of our intention to remove the prisoners.”

The minister was told contact had been made with the Georgian Embassy who were helping to provide travel documents.

“Up to ninety-five garda personnel have been assigned to travel on the aircraft. The final number of gardaí will be dictated by the eventual number of deportees,” the briefing added.

A later note said the Georgian authorities had “been compliant and have completely cooperated” with all requests from the Department of Justice.

It said there were now thirty-one people in custody, which included one father while there was likely to be at least one family on the flight.

A note said: “There is one Georgian in custody on foot of criminal charges who is due for release [in June]. He is not planned to be on this charter as we have other candidates but if numbers drop, he can be put on.”

Officials added that there was another candidate with known medical issues who could also be taken back home if the number of people available to fly back began to fall.

“There are an additional eighty-four Georgians who are possibilities for this charter that are not included [so far],” the briefing said.

A Q&A was also prepared for Jim O’Callaghan in which he was told to prepare for questions on whether the mass deportations were just a “gimmick.”

If asked about that, the minister was advised to say: “It is important that people understand that the government has the capacity, as well as the will, to maintain the integrity of the immigration system by removing people who do not have a right to be here.”

Another question considered likely from journalists was whether it was a “good use of garda time.”

If asked that, the suggested answer for Mr O’Callaghan was: “Yes, it is. Deportations must be done safely and with respect for the dignity of the people being deported.”

The flight eventually took off in late February with 32 Georgian nationals aboard; a further separate charter deportation operation taking 39 people to the same country happened late last month.

Asked about the briefing documents, a spokesman said: “The department has no further comment. “The documents released show the extensive work underway in the department to increase the number of deportations. They also show the level of preparation that goes into each charter flight.”