What a S-wizz
Ref it of two bathrooms in residence of the Irish ambassador in Berne cost €92,000
THE Department of Foreign Affairs tried to call a halt to the €92,000 renovation of two bathrooms at an ambassador’s residence in Switzerland after project costs spiralled far higher than ‘feared’.
However, as officials fretted over who would tell the ambassador, the refurbishment project had already been started by the time the final decision was made to cancel it – and it was already too late.
The work was carried out last year after the newly arrived ambassador Breifne O’Reilly told his department that the two bathrooms in the Berne residence were ‘dire’ and unfit for hosting any ‘official-level visit’.
Bathrooms were ‘dire’ and unfit for ‘official-level visit’
In an email, Mr O’Reilly wrote: ‘The tiling in both bathrooms is very old as well as being chipped and stained in several places and could not be regarded as in any way adequate or presentable.
‘Neither of the two bathrooms has a shower – only a shower fitting, one of which is close to a light switch (over the bath), which in my view could be hazardous.’
One of the rooms, he said, failed to even meet ‘minimal required standards, including hygiene’.
The ambassador was asked to get a quote for the work and three companies tendered, with the lowest quote available coming in at €75,000.
However, that would not be the final bill. And as preparatory work took place in February of last year, asbestos was discovered in one of the bathroom ceilings.
In departmental emails, staff asked if the ambassador needed to be moved to ‘temporary accommodation’ if it would be ‘sensible to do so’ while the work was taking place. However, Mr O’Reilly said that there was no need for him to move out, but that the removal of asbestos now meant the bill had risen to €93,150.
He said that even if the department were to look at selling the property, which is State-owned, it would need to resolve the asbestos issue first. The villa-style residence is located on Beatusstrasse in Berne, in a leafy area of the Swiss capital filled with embassies and the residencies of international ambassadors. As far back as 2005 the property was valued at €2.58m and it is thought to have risen in worth since.
In internal emails, departmental staff back in Dublin said significant work had been done to the residence in 2010 and that the newly discovered problem was ‘obviously … a surprise’.
They warned that inspections might now be needed to see if there was asbestos elsewhere in the property.
When the overall price of the work began to sink in, however, the department had second thoughts, saying the ‘overall budget is much worse than [they] had feared’.
An email from April 2016 said that the only work that should now go ahead was that of rectifying the asbestos issue.
It added: ‘Can a severely scaled down version of works be offered … on perhaps one of the two bathrooms with a budget of €5k-€10k which would be reasonable and may offer some comfort? The burning question – who should contact him [the Ambassador]?’
Unfortunately for the department, the decision to keep costs down came too late and they were told that the work had already started.
‘On a negative note … [the ambassador] confirms the work had already begun and therefore we are not able to curtail that expenditure as requested,’ said an email.
The final bill did come in slightly lower, at €91,890, after Badertscher, the bathroom company that had been hired, gave a 4% discount on the work.
It wasn’t the only hefty bill from the residence at Bern last year: another €15,000 was spent bringing damaged paintings back from Switzerland in 2016.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: ‘Costs for building works vary from country to country depending on currency fluctuations, varying local costs, and the need for expert advice and specialist contractors.
‘Switzerland is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive countries in the world for services and supplies.
‘The department seeks to adhere to Irish health and safety standards and any higher standards applied in the country where the Mission is located.
‘All goods and services are procured in line with the department’s procurement obligations under Government public tendering and contracting rules, including both national and EU public procurement thresholds.
‘The costs for this project increased due to the discovery of asbestos and the need to address the potential health and safety implications. As the planned work would disturb the asbestos it was necessary for the asbestos to be professionally removed.’
‘Can a scaled down version be offered?’