Concerns over taking away TD and Senator automobile parking places and issues with when construction was permitted or not caused delays in the €335,000 bike shelter project at Leinster House, reports Breaking News.
The contentious project’s completion schedule keeps slipping, according to Oireachtas internal documents.
Strict guidelines were also implemented for the project regarding the timing of work in order to guarantee “full dust containment” and prevent any material from getting into easily clogged ancient drains, reports Breaking News.
The project’s high cost may be partially explained by the records; last week, Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Feargháil told the Dáil that the project’s ultimate €336,051 bill was a “profound embarrassment.”
Notes of the meeting said: “A completion date will be around the 14th [of] January whereby the car parking spaces [for TDs and Senators] will be returned for use,” reports Breaking News.
The project looked to be proceeding as planned by the next month, with “fabrication in process” and the “handover” date scheduled for mid-January.
The project was far from done by January, though, as meeting minutes revealed that the revised completion date would now be the second week of March, reports Breaking News.
Progress stalled by February once more, this time lasting until the end of March and beyond the St. Patrick’s Day holiday.
The records also show how concerned the Oireachtas were over the temporary elimination of political parking spots.
One email between officials last September said: “[We have been asked] to ensure that the hoarding around the proposed bicycle parking is removed before the sittings resume. We have lost approximately ten parking spaces due to the hoarding, and that loss is not tenable once members return,” reports Breaking News.
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