The Irish Times

Whatever else he did during his long political career, Charles J Haughey will always be given credit for the conversion of Government Buildings. Completed in 1991 at a cost of £18 million, it was his very own grand projet, inspired by the more dazzling achievements of François Mitterand in embellishing the city of Paris. But just like the British Embassy in Ballsbridge, Government Buildings was left with an unfortunate blot in the foreground - a security hut through which all visitors had to be processed. Though designed by Office of Public Works architects, it was little more than a shed, with a pitched roof, aluminium frame and infill panels. Not only did this unsophisticated kit create a very poor first impression of the "Chas Mahal", it also sat rather uneasily alongside the new agenda of openness and transparency, embodied in the mid-1990s Strategic Management Initiative. The fact that it was accompanied by a smaller hut for the Army, directly opposite, didn't help.