Serious structural deficiencies have been discovered in a major flood protection scheme in Kilkenny city. The scheme has already cost the State some €48 million, nearly four times its original estimate.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has revealed that "construction defects" were discovered during the summer on a rebuilt weir. They were blamed on "bad workmanship" by contractors.
A fish pass on the weir had to be redesigned during the summer after it emerged that salmon were being blocked from travelling upstream to spawn.
The cost of the latest repair work is expected to be very significant, and part of the river will have to be dammed to allow work to take place on the weir.
Local Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness said the latest development on the controversial scheme was "typical of what is going on" in relation to waste on public projects which Ministers have failed to prevent.
He called on the Government to increase the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and the Public Accounts Committee (Pac) to investigate projects and proposed spending before it has taken place. Currently it can only examine projects after the money has been spent.
The C&AG, John Purcell, detailed the major overspend on the Kilkenny weir in his annual report last year, outlining how the original cost jumped from €13.8 million to a current total of €48 million.
The OPW has claimed the scheme has provided value for money, and last year denied any knowledge of structural deficiencies on any part of the scheme.
It also defended the design of the scheme this year when the problems on the fish pass emerged.
In a statement last May it also said that the cost of repair work on the fish pass would be minimal.
However, in a statement this week, the OPW said that during work on the fish pass it "raised concerns regarding the workmanship of the new section of the weir".
"In essence, there are construction defects in the new section of the weir, and the toe protection to the old weir must be replaced with one of more robust design."
It said the defects did not have any implications for the effectiveness of the flood relief scheme.
Mr McGuinness, deputy chairman of Pac, said the Government had failed to address the issue of ensuring value for money on public projects and preventing wasteful spending.
"I believe we've created a very vibrant and dynamic economy, capable of producing the kind of money necessary to fund social programmes.
"But on the other side of it we haven't put in place [cost] controlling measures as any big company would do. It is up to the Government to take action on this."