Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, who is Vice Chairman of the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee, has strongly criticised the Office of Public Works.
Mr McGuinness said that if the OPW were a private company it would be closed down.
He was speaking at the launch of the committee's report, which dealt among other things with the purchase of accommodation for asylum seekers.
Earlier the report said that over €19 million was spent by the OPW at five locations without achieving the intended results.
He said that the OPW needs to be dragged screaming into the 21st Century in the way it deals with the purchase of buildings for the State.
