Dáil revamp ran €3.5m over budget
Repair work revealed many hidden defects in historic structure
THE final bill for the controversial Leinster House refurbishment concluded in 2019 has come in at €16.4m – 28% or €3.58m above the original contract price.
The figure emerged in the wake of a series of questions from Seán Canney TD to Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath.
The TD asked which of the capital project contracts above the value of €5m had exceeded the tender value by more than 20% in each of the years between 2010 and 2020.
Mr Canney told the Irish Mail on Sunday there was growing evidence that a Public Works Contract introduced by Brian Cowen in 2007 ‘was no longer delivering certainty as to price and delivery’.
The contract was introduced after a series of high-profile controversies over spending over-runs on infrastructure such as the Port Tunnel.
Mr Canney warned that the increasing ability of contractors to find loopholes meant it was timely that we had another look at how these contracts are drafted.
Responding, the Public Expenditure Minister said that when it came to his Department the final bill for 12 contracts exceeded the initial estimate by more than 20%.
A particular problem was attached to flood relief capital contracts, with 11 coming in over budget.
Minister McGrath said site investigations are ‘constrained as the lands are often privately owned, and flood relief schemes can extend over long stretches and in built-up areas with varying ground conditions’.
The Minister also revealed there was ‘one estate management contract pertaining to the historic Leinster House in Dublin that exceeded the tender value by 20%’.
Mr McGrath revealed that whilst the politically sensitive refurbishment was supposed to come in at €12.82m, the sum paid was €16.4m.
Initial figures in 2019 suggested the refurbishment would come in at 15% over tender but Mr McGrath also conceded that this had in fact exceeded the contract price by 28%.
The Public Expenditure Minister said of the increase of just under a third that ‘the excess arose as additional time was required to carry out additional work [at the same tender rates] which only came to light during the contract’.
He added: ‘These previously hidden building elements could not have been reasonably foreseen or surveyed prior to contract placement, as the building was in full occupation by the Houses of the Oireachtas.’
The response by Mr McGrath also reveals the decrepitude of the former residence of the Earls of Kildare, which was built in 1745. The ‘unforeseen’ extra works included ‘significant cracking in internal walls and structurally unstable chimney flues’.
Other key systemic issues included: ‘Hidden structural roof defects, poor quality stone and stonework, additional structural works and fireproofing to floors.’
Builders also uncovered a number of historical artefacts such as children’s toys from the 19th Century including a wooden whistle, a spinning top, a solid wooden ball, and a toy soldier in a crimson uniform.
One source said: ‘Obviously, even back then the ancestors of our current lot were throwing their toys out of the pram.’
‘Problems could not have been reasonably foreseen’