PAC hearing called for

By Ellen O’Brien & Niamh Áine Ryan

The Public Accounts Committee is to be called on to hold a full hearing on the long awaited Cork events centre.

It comes following a special Cork City Council meeting on Tuesday evening where one item was on the agenda. Three councillors asked that Cork City Council rescind the request for additional funding from central Government in respect of the contract with BAM for the Cork event centre and instead secures central Government funding for a publicly-owned and operated Cork events centre.

An Rabharta Glas Cllr Lorna Bogue, Workers’ Party Cllr Ted Tynan and Socialist Party Cllr Brian McCarthy were the three councillors who brought the item up for discussion and a vote at Tuesday’s meeting.

However, the item was not given the go ahead following of vote of three for and 25 against.

During the meeting, Chief Executive of Cork City Council Ann Doherty, discussed the item in two parts and explained to the council chamber what would happen if this request was voted in.

Speaking about the second half of the request, “instead secures central Government funding for a publicly owned and operated Cork events centre”, she said several things would have to happen. “The city council would need to identify and purchase a site in the city centre, rezone this land, procure a design team, secure planning, attract industry expertise to advise, complete design, agree cost, secure funding, tender and award construction, construct, manage construction contract, tender for operator and award operator.”

Ms Doherty advised councillors that there would be a number of “significant risks” should councillors agree to embark on this process including a “considerable delay” in delivering the project, planning and construction risks as well as a lack of operator interest.

After the meeting, Cllr Lorna Bogue said she would be pursuing the matter further with the chief executive and the Public Accounts Committee. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Chorcaí said on Tuesday that it has written to the Public Accounts Committee requesting a full hearing on the events centre.

Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould, said: “There is no doubt that the events centre is vital for the future of Cork’s economy. Delay after delay has seen this project gathering dust for decades now. People are sick of hearing about the events centre, they want delivery.”

The sod was turned for the events centre in 2016 and has faced delays ever since, some of which were funding related. €57m in state funding has already been promised to the project and the Government is to soon make a decision on additional state funding which has been requested for the project.