TDs have a right to know who sanctioned the €336,000 outlay on the Dáil’s “infamous” bike shed, the Minister for Housing has said.
Darragh O’Brien said there should be no secrets when it comes to accountability over the affair, as he claimed “no one in their right mind” could have thought it permissible to spend that amount of money on a shelter for bicycles.
The minister, who was taking Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Thursday, was responding to an assertion from Aontú leader Peadar Toibin that the episode was evidence of an “accountability free zone” at the heart of the Government.
“I think that the Gucci bike shed that we see is a microcosm of the L’Oreal attitude of this Government – that ‘we are worth it’,” said Mr Toibin.
The glass-covered shelter, located on the grounds of Leinster House, has been the subject of criticism and ridicule for its high cost.
A breakdown from the Office of Public Works (OPW) shows almost €284,000 was spent on construction and installation, almost €4,000 on archaeological services, and more than €10,000 on contract administration services.
The chairperson of the OPW, which is the landlord of Leinster House and other historic buildings, is preparing a report on the bike shed project for Minister of State Kieran O’Donnell.
Mr Toibin suggested that accountability in this instance would consist of claims that “lessons will be learned” and the publication of a report “just when everybody else has moved on”.
“The question I’m asking for you is: when are we going to have individual responsibility?” he asked Mr O’Brien.
“When will there be a cost for decisions that are made, such as this, that cost the country so much. Who signed off on the Government bike shed and what rank were they within the OPW?”
Mr O’Brien said all TDs abhorred the “really poor management and lack of accountability” in relation to the shelter’s construction.
“It frustrates people and angers people. It angers me too. And certainly we need accountability,” he said.
“I served five years as a vice chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, I saw the Public Accounts Committee do its job, and see this Public Accounts Committee do its job, with its function of bringing people in and looking after and being the watchdog on expenditure.
“Every government department, its ministers and its secretary generals have responsibilities in relation to the management of their budgets too.
“I cannot give you an answer directly in relation to that one particular example that you raised as to who sanctioned it. I expect to hear that and we should know that.
“And we should also know what process was followed and how, in God’s name, someone thought to spend €336,000 on a bike rack would be something that would be permissible. No one in their right mind would actually think that.”
Mr O’Brien said accountability needed to extend beyond elected representatives and into the civil service.
“There should be no secret on this. People deserve to know,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, Sean O’Fearghail, said the episode was a source of “profound embarrassment” and acknowledged that “the depth of public anger is entirely justified”.
Mr O’Fearghail said he would be calling on the head of the OPW to attend the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission meeting next week to answer questions about how the project came into being.
