Process begins to 'expedite' retendering for Cork event centre

“This is an absolute priority for council and will receive our utmost attention,” said the council’s new chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan.

The entire event-centre process, which is being overseen by the city council, has been dogged by price overruns and delays since BAM won the tender in 2014 for some €20m of public funding to help deliver the project on South Main St.

A decade on, not a single brick has been laid and costs have soared.

The amount of state funding pledged increased to €57m in 2021 but it is understood that an additional €30 to €40m is now required.

Given the scale of change in the funding model, the legal advice to Government was that a truncated re-procurement process should now happen to ensure the State does not fall foul of EU procurement laws.

Cabinet approved the retendering on Tuesday.

In a briefing note to councillors on Thursday, Ms O’Sullivan said while the direction that a new procurement process is required is disappointing, the priority now is to ensure that the process is carried out "as quickly and efficiently as possible".

“There is a clear commitment to deliver an event centre for Cork in the National Development Plan, based on the many economic, cultural, and social benefits it will deliver,” she said.

“The development of an event centre is an imperative and will be transformational for Ireland’s second city.

“Cork City Council welcomes the re-affirmation of Government support for the event centre, as outlined by the Tánaiste this week.

“Our work now is to engage fully with Government and key stakeholders to expedite the formation of the project development board, which is the first step towards the activation of the new procurement process.” 

Her update came as Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire told Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien, who brought the retendering memo to Cabinet, that Cork people are exhausted by “the farce".

He asked for details on the new tender; whether it is possible to recoup the €1.5m already spent on the project; and whether Mr O'Brien believes the process which was embarked upon on day one was flawed.

However, the minister would only say that the Government has reaffirmed its support for the project.

“We will see an expedited and truncated process. This facility needs to be built. We need to get on with it as quickly as possible,” he said.