The Office of Public Works has responsibility on behalf of the State for managing and maintaining a substantial and complex estate. This diverse portfolio includes office accommodation for all Government Departments, the property estate of An Garda Síochána and the properties of many State agencies. The portfolio also includes specialised spaces such as public offices, laboratories and cultural institutions, as well …
TDs / Kevin Boxer Moran
Kevin Boxer Moran
Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1
question asked
Oral and written, to government departments
36,949
words spoken in the chamber
36,803 as a minister, 146 as a TD
411
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
1
topic asked about
Across 1 department
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 1 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 208 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 21 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 19 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 24 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| November 2025 | 1 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 31 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 4 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 20 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 168 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Longford-Westmeath 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform 29 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 5 June 2025 to now
I understand what the Deputy is saying but, as I have outlined, the issue of whether we buy, build or lease property is a complex matter and subject to a number of variables, including the availability of capital funding, the availability of sustainable buildings and sites and prevailing market conditions. The money is not always available to build or to buy, as I outlined to him. We have always examined in detail ev…
The issue the Deputy has just raised with me is a matter for the Department of justice. He mentioned the people who were on the streets last week. I think he would acknowledge that the 300,000 people in the public service right across the country have to be accommodated. It is my job in government to deliver that accommodation for those people. The Deputy has outlined that a number of properties are vacant. I do not …
The Office of Public Works and Galway County Council are working together on the development of the Gort lowlands flood relief scheme in south Galway. Galway County Council is acting as the lead authority.
The Gort lowlands catchment area is a karst landscape that features a combination of river water, groundwater, swallow holes and turloughs. It is internationally unique from an ecological perspective. Due to the c…
Working with Galway Council and others, my team is doing its living best to get this scheme delivered. As the Deputy has said, it has been going on for a long time but it is a very technical project. A lot of environmental issues are involved when moving water, particularly from turloughs. A great deal of work is going into delivering this scheme. That can be seen in the number of different bodies involved in bringin…
As the Deputy has rightly pointed out, there is a timeframe. Since the last time the Deputy raised the issue, we have set a timeframe, which we will all work to meet. However, we are talking about turloughs. The Deputy will probably know the area better than I do, although I have visited the area on two occasions and am well attuned as to what it is like down there. It is very complex. It is not just a river coming a…
To establish which communities are at risk from significant flood events, in 2018, the OPW completed the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State. The OPW catchment-based flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme was undertaken by engineering consultants on behalf of the OPW, working in partnership with the local authorities. The CFRAM programme studied 80% of Ireland's primary flood risk…
I fully appreciate the Deputy's sentiments, and he has outlined the money we have provided to the local authority to do work in both of those areas. The change I have made to the minor works scheme, increasing the figure from €750,000 to €2 million, allows local authorities to come in under the scheme, but I have also made changes to allow interim measures. The Deputy asked whether, if local authorities look for fund…
Again, I am working on a plan to deliver on tranche 2, but the change I made to increase the €750,000 figure to €2 million allows local authorities to advance works to help while we are waiting for this to come on board. For the last two years, I have heard in this House that the €750,000 was not enough and that local authorities were breaking the schemes in twos and threes. I changed that threshold to allow them to …
Since 2018, and working with the local authority, the OPW has increased the number of flood relief schemes at design and construction by 100. This includes the Kilkee flood relief scheme, which is planned to protect 134 properties. The OPW is funding two staff members in Clare County Council to lead the delivery of flood relief schemes across the county. The county council is working in partnership with the OPW. Clar…
I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. The Deputy is on the ground and will be well aware that the delays with the compulsory purchase orders came about because of issues concerning who owns the land. In fairness to the local authority, it is working to deliver the planning to An Coimisiún Pleanála. We will work towards that with the council.
We are no different than any other country. I was in Australia for …
I have broken the scheme into two halves, which I have outlined. Having visited the local authorities, I know that the €750,000 was not enough to deliver on some of these bigger projects, such as the seafront the Deputy mentioned. I have changed that from €750,000 to €2 million. This allows the local authorities to come in and avail of that funding to help deal with issues while they wait for the long-term scheme.
I…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 68 together.
The Liffey Valley park strategy was published in 2006. It proposed a necklace of amenities along mainly public land by the River Liffey. These lands will provide recreational opportunities for the public and help to protect and conserve the biodiversity and the amenity value of the Liffey Valley corridor. This vision in the strategy for the outdoor recreational in…
I thank the Deputy and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, for their activity in relation to these areas. I convened the meeting with the four local authorities in charge and asked them to come forward with their plans. We will meet early in the new year. As I said, the local authorities lead on this. I would like them to come back in. I was excited by the work that was done in the past and what they are doing now but the…
I hear everything the Deputy is saying. I would point to the meeting we convened recently. There is a need for every local authority, and there are four involved in this case, to look at their town and county development plans. It is in the interests of local councillors to zone the land and acquire a right to protect such amenities and areas for future plans or parks, going forward. Listening to the local authoritie…
In fairness, this is the second or third time since I came into the House that the Ceann Comhairle has said that and no one has been punished.
People should be punished for breaking the rules, not stand up and make lectures.
I hope Members respect the Ceann Comhairle.
The Minister is still only a young fella.
The Deputy-----
If you had come into Government when you had the chance, we would be able to tell you now.
No pointing fingers now, Pearse.
I will come back to the Deputy. There has been a meeting between Galway County Council and ourselves. I do not know what stage it is at, but if the Deputy bears with me, I will come back to him in due course.
It is a long night.
I thank the Deputy for his kind words. The OPW does good work right across the region and particularly in his constituency, as he has outlined. I get asked to take over this castle or this monument every day of the week, and I do not have an endless pot to do that. Galway County Council has reached out to the OPW and meetings have taken place, but I cannot say what further engagements have taken place at this time, b…