Leinster House Bicycle Shed

I wonder how they ever got on with the printer that wouldn't fit in the room it was supposed to go in. Would it fit in the "bike shed" ?

Maybe they actually built 3 sheds and some people came along and insisted the design was wrong and needed to be changed. Nobody here knows what happened yet and are casting blame all over. So many variables but don’t be so sure that an individual is the cause. Maybe the security reasons are sound and it designed to withstand bombs or had to be reworked because of such dangers.
i don’t know and you don’t know but it is clear given an example of how prices can rise you couldn’t say who should be held responsible

Can't believe there's people actually trying to defend the cost.... the price of house to build a bike shed roof for 18 bikes... there is no excuse. And using fancy or exotic materials while the country is in massive debt with all the issues we have... it speaks volumes.

€4,800,000 doesn't sound like value for money for a steel shed mate

how is it toothless if it has the power to stop something like this before it happens

This story will go nowhere. The OPW have form here, remember John O'Donoghue's curtains.

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/herald/those-mindblowing-expenses-and-where-they-all-went/27928022.html

The OPW spend like there is no tomorrow and think the spend is totally justifiable if it fits the architectural style etc. The OPW live in cloud cuckoo land. There must have been another site on the grounds that was not so visible to the public where they could of put a much cheaper option in. But no the OPW go mad spending the cash. It's like they are living out their fantasy of how they would design their own place if money was no obstacle. Totally detached from reality. I'm almost feeling sorry for O'Donoghue now, my god!

What’s wrong with bikes being exposed to the elements?

They’re designed to be used outside. They don’t suddenly become vulnerable when there’s no one sitting on them.

no offence intended but why bother saying things that are factually wrong. The secgen or minister would not have to sign off on a 300k contract. You are a few rungs off, I don’t think you realise the scope of public spending.

Who cares, realistically who's going to cycle there from the current Government anyways, Ivana Bacik? Eamonn Ryan after her gets dropped off on Merrion row by his Garda driver and pedals the 2 mins down the road?

Will be empty for half the year with all the holidays they get too..

Point was that the Thornton Hall waste of money was not on McDowell's watch.

Debate on prison reform another time another thread.

Speaking generally, this level of spending gets signed off at PO or PO higher level or equivalent. Political appointees do not review spending at this level.

Civil servants typically do care a lot about the budget of whatever type of project they are running be that infrastructure or whatever else and do try to come in within it. No one sets out to cause an overrun. It's frankly absurd to suggest that any project is overrun intentionally to embarrass the government.

In accordance with the public spending code and infrastructure guidelines, ordinarily spending requires a business case, and it should be updated as a project goes through decision gates, or whatever they are called now.

There is no political involvement in the awarding of contracts.

As for the awarding of contracts and what's broken, maybe we should wait and see what the money was spent on? Perhaps there was some unexpected difficulties, or something else that needed to be done as part of the works. I'm sure the OPW will be in front of PAC soon enough over it.

They will deteriorate faster in rain.

Aside, it is a big plus for a cyclist to don or dof gear and leave helmet in a sheltered spot.

Aye sure we're just dealing with an unelected bureaucracy that has no accountability and spends taxpayers money as if it were monopoly money, they don't care and aren't bothered by Govt. Ministers who can give as many soundbites to the media as they like cos it will make zero difference at all.. no consequences..

As Einstein says:

“Bureaucracy is the death of any achievement”

20k for this installed. Where is the other 330k so?

Not true. Sec Gen would typically have approval limits of €1m, though it could well be larger in OPW given their core business. No Ministerial signoff would be needed for a project of this size. I suspect it was signed off at PO level in OPW, though no doubt there's a ton of FOIs in at the moment to answer the specifics.

It is however, up to the Minister to ensure that there are appropriate procedures in place to ensure value for money, which doesn't seem to have happened in this case.

are all those works confirmed, as been part of it? I'm looking at a concrete pad and strucutre in any images I see.

Absolutely. When the Minister of Finance is on about "lowest cost" you can only shudder.

IMO in no way should 335K have been spent on works on what effectively is a shelter for bicycles.

It should have been put out of the way no where near the facade of the building. That doesn't mean it had to be a tatty shelter fúcked on some tarmacadam down the back either.

The news cycle has pretty much run it's course on this story, the politicians have all aired how aghast they are, so it will be interesting to see if it resurfaces to some degree with an actual cost breakdown and explanation.

I'd be pretty sure the whole thing snow balled and once conservationists got involved that's when the budget ballooned.

The one positive is, the finish is premium they obviously got in decent contractors.

You know, even if it's all accounted for due to buying the most expensive concrete they could find, for an average of 4.5 people using it a day, in the middle of a housing crisis, with overflowing hospitals and prisons, who honestly went "€335k during all this for a bike canopy? Certainly!"...

Just highlights that the government and the peons are living in different worlds... I'd imagine on a rainy day, there won't be a single bit of that glorified roof that will stay dry...