LAST UPDATE | 3 Sep

THE TAOISEACH HAS said that the cost of a €335,000 bike shelter at Leinster House is “inexcusable” and “inexplicable”.

The minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Kieran O’Donnell TD has ordered a full review of the project.

The OPW said it acknowledges the recent discussions about the costs and has released a breakdown of how much was spent on every part of the process.

It cited the shelter’s historical site as one of the drivers of the cost.

“As stipulated in the planning application, the bicycle shelter was to have no material impact on the historic fabric of Leinster House, the adjoining National Gallery or historic elements in Leinster Lawn,” it said in a statement.

“Located within the setting of Leinster House, a protected structure of national importance, the construction of the bike shelter involved several unique challenges.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris told the press this morning: “I think everybody can see the benefit of having somewhere to park a bike at a workplace. People get that. What they don’t get is the extraordinary sum of money.

“This is the sort of thing that rightly angers and annoys people, but it angers and annoys me as well.” 

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the cost “seems like an astronomical amount”, but that the reasoning behind it won’t be fully understood until the findings of the review are published.

Nearly €284,000 of the total amount was spent on the shelter’s construction, while €2,952 was spent on Archaeological Services. 

The structure consists of a steel framed, glazed canopy to ensure long term durability.

“The materials used, including Irish granite, glass and steel were carefully selected not only for their durability, but also for their compatibility with the historic setting of our national parliament, the OPW said.

VAT accounted for €38,333 of the overall cost. €10,816.52 was spent on admin services.

The OPW added: “The project was procured via a framework agreement and complies with public procurement and planning guidelines.”

The shelter is located on Leinster Lawn, on the Merrion Square side of the Oireachtas complex.

The Green Party has sought to distance itself from the growing debacle and taken aim at media portrayals of its role in the shelter’s construction. The project falls under the remit of the Fine Gael-led OPW. 

Isn't it funny how the Greens get blamed for things that have nothing to do with us?

Nobody in the Green Party signed off on this shed. Time the media held the right people to account. pic.twitter.com/bakKPQ6fOT

— Green Party Ireland (@greenparty_ie) September 3, 2024

A post on X by the party’s account said: “Isn’t it funny how the Greens get blamed for things that have nothing to do with us?”

“Nobody in the Green Party signed off on this shed. Time the media held the right people to account.”

‘Name and shame’ 

Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea has called on the Taoiseach to “name and shame” those responsible for signing off on the shed’s installation, adding he wants them to face sanction.

The Limerick politician said that people working in the Civil Service must be held accountable for their actions in the same way that politicians are expected to be.

“The real question is, is anybody going to be held accountable for this? Politicians are expendable, but civil servants seem to be as safe as a sacred cow in a Hindu heartland,” he said.

“I was absolutely stunned and sickened when I heard about it and I’ll tell you why – I heard about it roughly about the same time I received an email from Irish Water that they couldn’t repair a manhole cover, due to the fact that they were having long internal discussions about it — I kid you not.”

“Who decided this had to be such an elaborate thing, built into the granite structure in Leinster House and all that – what is the point of it, why was it so elaborate?” he asked.

“And, secondly, when the tenders came in – I presume they went for the lowest tender but I don’t know – was nobody in authority consulted about whether it was sensible to be spending this amount of taxpayers money on this?”

O’Dea said public expenditure on certain projects had “gone beyond a joke” and that he regularly meets constituents in Limerick who are “struggling to get to the end of the week on low wages, and then they see this, and they are scandalised by it, frankly”.

With reporting by David Raleigh and Ken Foxe