Annual Report 2004 - The Office of Public Works

The OPW Access Programme
During 2004 the Access Programme supported work to improve accessibility in buildings occupied by the
Courts Service; Department of Social & Family Affairs; Department of Finance; Department of Education &
Science; Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government; Department of Community, Rural &
Gaeltacht Affairs; Department of Foreign Affairs; Department of Health & Children; OPW; Office of the
Comptroller & Auditor General; Central Statistics Office; Office of the Attorney General; Office of the
Commissioners of Charitable Donations & Bequests; Office of the Revenue Commissioners; Irish Linguistics
Institute; National Archives; and the Garda Authorities.
The OPW, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and the Institute for
Design & Disability, continued to sponsor a touring exhibition, "Design for All", assembled around the
seven principles of Universal Design as compiled by the Centre for Universal Design, North Carolina State
University. The exhibition continued to tour in 2004.
Venues included:
• The closing conference for the Barcelona Declaration, Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
• The Young Social Innovators Awards, City West.
• Killarney Library, Killarney
• Tralee Library, Tralee
• Institute of Designers in Ireland’s Design Week, Atrium, OPW,
• 51 St Stephens Green, Dublin
Total expenditure in 2004 was 662,000 on 28 projects.
Special Projects
"Practical Completion of the 12,500m 2 State Laboratory at Backweston was achieved in Summer 2004
and a formal handover of the building to the Minister for Finance took place on the 31st August 2004.
Completion of the adjoining 25,000m 2 Laboratories complex for the Department of Agriculture &
Food - scheduled for January 2005 - was delayed following the malicious setting of fires in one of the
Laboratories in mid-September 2004. Contract completion is now due in early May 2005. Total expenditure
involved on the Backweston complex is in the region of 200m.
Construction work on the provision of the new 50m/11,000m 2 (approx.) Marine Institute HQ at
Oranmore, Co. Galway progressed well throughout 2004 and is due for completion at the end of 2005.
Preparatory work on the provision of the new Central Veterinary Research Farm at Longtown Farm,
Clane, Co. Kildare to replace the existing facility at Abbotstown, Dublin 15 for the Department of
Agriculture & Food continued during the year. A Planning Application for the Main Contract comprising
Administration Buildings, Yards and Sheds covering a total floor area of just in excess of 14,000m 2 was
submitted to Kildare County Council in December 2004.
Expressions of Interest were received in January 2004 for the provision via the Design, Build, Finance,
Operate and Maintain route of a 2,000-seater National Conference Centre. This complex Public Private
Partnership (PPP) project was advanced substantially during the year to the extent that three consortia were
selected to proceed to the next stage of the Competition i.e., Invitation to Tender, documents for which
issued in December 2004.
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