Pleasure dome for TDs a snip at £25m

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more discreet pair of modern buildings in Dublin than the new five-storey blocks of office accommodation for TDs and senators, which barely peep above the facade of Leinster House.

Oireachtas members return tomorrow from their summer break to the luxury of individual air-conditioned offices, a glass-roofed atrium and a landscaped courtyard with open-air pool.

Gone are the cramped conditions they endured up to now, and the long walks to Dail votes from their former offices on Kildare Street.

By comparison, Charles Haughey's controversial renovation of Government Buildings in 1991, and the creation of offices later popularly known as the "Chas Mahal", cost £17.6 million, but the latest addition to the corridors of power, at £25 million, is regarded as good value.

"The project has come in on time, on budget and at a fraction of the cost of similar extensions in other parliaments," says Mr Martin Cullen, the Minister of State at the Office of Public Works (OPW), which had overall responsibility for the project.

The new wing, known as Leinster House 2000, houses offices for about 100 Oireachtas members and staff, suites for the leaders of the Opposition, four committee rooms and a vaulted underground passage to the rest of Leinster House.

Fianna Fail will occupy the bottom two floors, Fine Gael the next two, while Labour members will enjoy the best views from the top of the building. There is a pecking order in the allocation of offices, with front-benchers getting four windows, and mere backbenchers only three.

Mr Cullen says the scheme is only the start of an overall plan to restore the buildings and surrounding gardens to their former glory. Once the builders have cleared off - yesterday they were working furiously to meet tomorrow's deadline - Leinster Lawn on the Merrion Square side of the building will be relaid.

"Ultimately, our aim is to take down the railings around Leinster House, give the public access to the gardens and provide a walkway linking Merrion Square and Kildare Street," he added.

Kildare House, which has served as overflow accommodation up to now, will be renovated to house a gym and creche.