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THE SCHEME TO build the white-water rafting facility in Dublin may now face delays as the council won’t be putting its construction out to tender until next year, rather than the last months of 2020 as hoped.
A Dublin City Council spokesperson confirmed to TheJournal.ie that Covid-19 has “certainly effected our programme” when it comes to moving forward with the controversial project in the city’s docklands.
Furthermore, the council has said it remains hopeful it will secure all the funding needed for the facility prior to tendering the main contract early next year.
The council last year faced much criticism over the €22.8 million bill for the project, coming in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis.
It aimed to pacify those concerns by insisting that more than half of funding for the project – €13 million – would be covered through Government grants, with a further €4.9 million covered through development levies, and another €4 million coming from capital reserves.
However, TheJournal.ie previously learned that a €6.6 million grant application was refused by the government.
The application to the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) “did not score highly enough” according to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which administers the scheme.
The grant application was made before a majority of two-thirds of councillors in Dublin City Council green lit the project at a meeting in December. The decision to refuse it was made in January 2020, a short time after the widespread debate on whether the project was appropriate.
Concerns have been raised by councillors at the lack of secured funding for the project thus far.
Fianna Fáil councillor Daithí de Roiste said: “If they are struggling to draw down grants and other people aren’t looking at this, and this was in a pre-Covid world… so in a post-Covid world we need to ask can we afford to be wasting money like that? I don’t think so.”
In July, a council spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that the advertisement of the main works contract will go out to tender in the final quarter of this year with construction beginning in 2021.
However, these timelines are now uncertain after the contracting being put out to tender has been delayed until next year.
A spokesperson said: “We do not expect to publish tender documents for the main contract in 2020. It is hoped that the construction contract will be advertised on eTenders in Q1 2021.
Discussions are ongoing with funding bodies but it is hoped that all necessary external funding for the project will be confirmed prior to tendering for the main contract.
Covid-19 has certainly effected our programme for getting the project to tender stage due to challenges with remote working for the Multi-disciplinary Design Team.
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This is a complete myth, it is not easy to switch your mortgage, you essentially have to be completely reassessed again.
@Keith Twamley: of course you do …that’s exactly what a remortgage is
@Mark: Did you read the article Mark?
“Where you have switching that’s easy and fast, you have more competition”
@Keith Twamley: I was fixed for 5 years, 2 years in I asked about switching to the much lower new rate they have, No issue whatsoever no cost at all new rate fixed it for 4 years and reduced the term, all done over email took about 10 days. If you don’t ask you won’t get, I was surprised how easy it was and that their was no cost involved. EBS btw.
@Keith Twamley: It really should be as easy as switching electricity/gas.
Wont happen but it should be.
@Keith Twamley: That sounds great Cormac, unfortunately I don’t think it is the experience most have though, it really should be that easy, but usually is not, which is why most people are so reluctant to do it..
@Cormac Harte: Same here actually. Was on a fixed rate with the bank. I asked them if there would be any fee going to a new lower fixed rate. No problems.
And I did it again where I got a lower LTV rate. Again no problems. All with the same bank over the last 2 years.
@Keith Twamley: I think the issue is if your moving to a different bank you have to go through the whole rigmarole. If people look a little closer to home with their own banks 90% of them have far lower rates that they did 2 years ago worth a try asking for the lower rate I know 2 others mates that did the same thing with a different bank and same thing a very easy process. switching mortgage doesn’t necessarily mean switching banks. It’s worth a shot.
@Cormac Harte: Yes, thanks Cormac, I appreciate it is easier when sticking with the same bank. The article was really talking about switching providers. Just think there are so many things wrong with the banks, central bank has a lot to do with it too. Given the high price of houses currently, it doesn’t make sense to only be able to borrow 3.5 times your salary. And rent not being taken in to account in todays market is also crazy. I am foolishly hopeful that some of these issues will be addressed in next months budget. But think it will always be difficult to switch providers.
@Keith Twamley: that quote was from a commission member, not a Bank CEO. So I wouldn’t rely on it for your argument. Banks need to make sure you’re a good risk, so obviously they’ll do due diligence. Unlike the Celtic Tiger days, and we all know what lax assessment criteria resulted in. So this thorough ressement is the correct, prudent approach for a Bank
@Cormac Harte: switching can be easy enough when you’re staying within the same institution, it’s a completely different kettle of fish when you’re transferring externally. We’ve done it and saved thousands but it’s long and complicated, you also need to consider solicitor fees etc.
@Mark: It’s not a remortgage, that doesn’t exist in Ireland. The ‘person’ at BOI told us ‘they’d never heard of a remortgage’
Remortgaging (or whatever its called here), is like competing in Jumanji
In the process of switching. Taken about six months already
@Rmaybe: I was trying to switch to Avant earlier this year. I gave up after being asked for accountant letter, payslips (for the third time) and other docs. Our mortgage is 15 years old, we’re earning twice what we were earning back then and we’ve never missed one payment.
In the end I just contacted my current lender and fixed at their lowest fixed rate. Not quite as good as Avants but soooooo much simpler and no need for solicitors and it took one phone call and one form to sign.
It’s not that easy to switch I’ve tried and even though I’ve been over paying my mortgage for 4 years the bank says my earnings dont qualify for a mortgage so I’m stuck.
So, here come higher interest fixed rates, in exchange for longer fixed loan terms.
The banks will always win no matter what and that’s ok as long it’s within a reasonable margin ,that end has to be controlled
I still don’t get what’s the reason why we can’t have fix rate for the full duration of the mortgage?
Is the journal fffg in disguise ?
Banker rhymes with w##nker
Well I hope its easier then trying to switch a simple current account from Ulster Bank owing to its exit from Ireland
@Mary Garry: I switched from UB to PTSB. I don’t trust the banks to not fuk it up so I opened the new account and transferred the direct debits manually. It’s a bit more effort but not that hard.
It was a nightmare to switch our mortgage. Aside from finding it almost impossible to get talking to a human or to get a callback, from when we put in the application to when it eventually got processed months later the interest rates rose, thereby wiping out any savings achieved by switching. We got the old rate in the end but if a private company was run as inefficiently as the banks they would quickly go out of business.
CCPC or which ever agency has power should be legislating for switching mortgages to be easier. ( not just rates, but providers)
In the USA you can switch mortgage providers in a matter of days. No re-conveyancing, no silly solicitors fees which are very prohibitive.
If switching was easier it would allow for more competition with existing banks and might even encourage new banks to enter the market because they have a shot at attracting current low risk mortgage payers to their books.
@Rmaybe: I was trying to switch to Avant earlier this year. I gave up after being asked for accountant letter, payslips (for the third time) and other docs. Our mortgage is 15 years old, we’re earning twice what we were earning back then and we’ve never missed one payment.
In the end I just contacted my current lender and fixed at their lowest fixed rate. Not quite as good as Avants but soooooo much simpler and no need for solicitors and it took one phone call and one form to sign.
Almost zero choice in mortgage providers. Well done Fine Gael.
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