Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1988 > Committee of Public Accounts > Report - Review of the Procedures Followed by the Office of Public Works in the Management and Control of its Capital Projects

REPORT

REVIEW OF THE PROCEDURES FOLLOWED BY THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC WORKS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF ITS CAPITAL PROJECTS

BACKGROUND

1.In recent years, the Committee of Public Accounts has learned, through the annual Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee’s examination thereon of Accounting Officers, of the details of increased expenditure on capital projects undertaken by the Office of Public Works mainly on behalf of other Departments during these years. In referring to these matters in its various Reports, the Committee expressed concern at the way the projects were planned and executed by the Office of Public Works. Because of this, the Committee was of the view that the procedures followed by the Office of Public Works in the management and control of its capital projects should be the subject of a special review. To assist with the review, which it felt would be of a technical nature, the Committee agreed to engage the services of consultants from ESB International a body which has wide experience in all aspects of planning, management and control of expenditure on large capital projects.

ENDORSEMENT OF REPORT FROM ESB INTERNATIONAL

2.The Report from ESB International which is appended to this Report takes the form of a general overview and comments on the adequacy or otherwise of the procedures currently being followed by the Office of Public Works covering various management systems for the feasibility, design and supervision of major capital construction projects. The Committee endorses the contents of the Report from the consultants and urges that the recommendations which are set out in section 3 of the Report (pages 15-16) be implemented as soon as possible.

MONITORING OF IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS

3.The Committee looks forward to the observations of the Office of Public Works as to how it intends to carry out the recommendations in the Report. In this regard, a programme - setting out an implementation date - for the modification and finalisation of the two project control documents mentioned in the consultant’s Report should be submitted by the Office of Public Works to the Committee. In this way, the progress made by the Office of Public Works towards the implementation of the Report’s findings can be monitored by the Committee.

4.In view of the importance of this issue and the effect that adequate guidelines and procedures can have in actually controlling expenditure on capital projects, the Committee requests the Comptroller and Auditor General to pay particular regard to the recommendations when carrying out his annual audit in the area of expenditure on capital projects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

5.The Committee would like to acknowledge its thanks to Mr. Martin L. Hally, Deputy Managing Director, ESB International and to the members of the review team - Mr. Noel Enright, (Senior Project Manager), Mr. Michael Richardson and Mr. Gerry Kelly of the Civil Works Department, Electricity Supply Board - for the work done on its behalf.

Gay Mitchell T.D.

Chairman

28 June 1988.