€400,000 budget to replace light at top of the Spire is branded ‘absolutely startling’ by councillor
A €400,000 budget to replace the aviation light at the top of the Spire on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre has been described as “absolutely startling” by a Dublin city councillor.
Cllr Keith Connolly said he was amazed when he saw the figure, questioning how changing a light at the top of the Spire could cost the “same as the price of a house in Dublin”.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” the Fianna Fáil councillor for Ballymun-Finglas said.
An aviation light is a highintensity light used to alert aircraft to the presence of tall structures when flying at night.
The €400,000 cost cited in the Dublin City Council capital plan for 2021 sparked Mr Connolly to ask the council: “How is the project so expensive? Does it need to be carried out, and if so, is it going to tender?”
Mr Connolly said he hoped to have answers to his questions before the council meets on Monday, where he would raise the issue, but admitted very little could be done by the elected councillors.
“[The budget] doesn’t have to be passed by the reserve members, so the executive can basically do what they like,” Mr Connolly said.
“We can comment on it, seek clarification and we can give out... but basically there is nothing we can really do about it. When you see a light being changed for €400,000 it just drives you mad.”
The Irish Independent has requested a breakdown of the cost of the project from Dublin City Council.
This is not the first time the lights on the infamous Dublin landmark have caused a stir.
In 2015 a lightbulb on the top of the monument cost €10,000 to replace.
In 2008 lights near the top of the Spire were replaced at a cost of more than €100,000 as Dublin City Council were forced to hire a 120m crane – of which there was only one in Ireland at the time – to complete the repairs.
Also known as the Monument of Light, the 120m Spire was erected between December 2002 and January 2003 at a cost of €4.6m.
It was originally claimed to be ‘self-cleaning’ as it was designed to allow rainfall to remove dirt as it flows off the structure. However, the Spire has required cleaning and maintenance services at a cost of between €80,000 and €90,000 a year.
In 2008 lights were replaced at a cost of more than €100,000