Whiff of excess from Dáil and Dublin raises spirits of Christmasses past
AS the tills ring and the days tick down to Christmas there’s no escaping the feeling we’re slipping back into the old Ireland of the free spending Noughties. Media revelations over recent days and weeks about the spiralling costs the Government are forking out on a printer and a €200,000 coffee equipment don’t sit well with me and many others who are feeling the pinch in the pocket at this the most wonderfully expensive time of the year.
Don’t get me wrong I love Christmas, always have, and do even moreso now that the Whirlwind Wonder and The Little Fella are old enough to truly appreciate its magic.
Combine the government’s spending with plans for a €23m white water rafting attracting in Dublin city centre and the red flags start appearing.
The Dáil’s top official has said ‘a series of mistakes’ were made in the €1.8m Oireachtas printing controversy, but said those mistakes were ‘human error’. Well that’s reassuring to know! We can’t blame the robots this time!
Clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan has apparently written to the Public Accounts Committee that the cost of its new printer is now running at €1.8m. According to documents sent by Mr Finnegan, to the PAC, construction costs associated with raising the ceiling have seen the figures inflated, the Irish Examiner reported.
The PAC has been told that costs incurred by the construction work required to raise the ceiling of the room to accommodate the printing press are €267,000 excluding VAT, and not the €229,000 outlined in November.
The mess is like something out of 18th century France, when money was thrown at projects. At least they’re all standing!
Mr Finnegan has attempted to defend the spend of money on the Komori printer, purchased in 2019 to a Heidelberg Printer purchased in 2004 which cost €1.24m including VAT.
If the printer was one at least of those 3D yokes, one which could make a plane to fly our TDs around the country and ensure they’re back in time to vote that would be a different matter and potentially a money saving investment in the long run.
News that the Houses of the Oireachtas Service staff are set to spend over €200,000 on coffee and coffee equipment bubbled to the surface on Monday. The old joke about the Dáil bar bill not being paid, may soon be expanded up on to include the Dáil cafe.
Apparently the coffee machines must be capable of making 120 cups per hour and be able to make espresso, Americano, flat white, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate and mocha. Considering how few TDs appear to be in the Dáil these days, you’d wonder who’ll be drinking all of the 1,000 plus coffees being churned out every day.
Meanwhile in another part of Disneyland Dublin councillors are ruing voting in favour of a white-water rafting course.
The €22.8 million project was backed by almost two-thirds of councillors on Dublin City Council at a meeting last month. Those opposed to the plans say they cannot justify backing a project such as this when there is a housing and homeless crisis that has not been resolved. Considering all of the children and parents living out of hotels this Christmas maybe an expensive tourist attraction, ideal for the Google and other multinational company parties – was always going to play poorly.