Cork events centre has 'to go out again to tender' Tánaiste confirms 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has vowed that Government will do all it can to progress the delivery of Cork’s long-awaited events centre as quickly as possible following confirmation that the project must be retendered on foot of “categoric” advice from the Attorney General.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Martin said: “When I was Taoiseach we committed €57m to the events centre on the basis that the detailed design work would be carried out by the developers.

“That now has been completed and Cork City Council sent in a final business case to Government and because substantial monies will be required, the Attorney General’s advice was very categoric, that it would have to go out again to tender,” he said.

The update has been met with some criticism, with one general election candidate describing it as an “an absolute joke”.

Initially, the consortium that had won the tender for the Events Centre, Bam and Live Nation Gaiety, was expected to benefit from €20m in State funding — which was later increased to €50m and then to €57m.

It was revealed at a Cork City Council meeting in December that additional funding would be required for the project, due to inflation, and following the completion of a detailed design.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that given the current project costs “it is now clear that the procurement process undertaken for the events centre project, which commenced in 2014, cannot support the level of grant funding now required”.

“It is also clear that the General Block Exemption from State Aid provisions, which was available for the events centre when projected costs were much lower, cannot be safely relied upon given the escalation in project costs and the grant funding now sought.

“Every effort has been made in recent months to try and find a way to allow the project to progress and it is now clear that the surefooted way of ensuring that an events centre is developed in Cork city is to commence the procurement process and State Aid engagement afresh,” they added.

The spokesperson said that it is Government’s intention to appoint a project development board, led by Cork City Council and with representatives from key stakeholder organisations, “to ensure that the most appropriate funding and ownership model is chosen and that those preferred models inform the new procurement process”.

In terms of timescale, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said: “We will try to accelerate it as much legally and possibly can be done.” He added: “I acknowledge that it’s frustrating for people given the length of time that has elapsed since it was first mooted, planning permission was granted in 2020, we did commit the €57m in 2022 but then construction inflation has kicked in, the detailed design work has now been done and that has resulted in a much higher cost to the project. 

“We simply had no choice but to go out for a retender.” 

Former city councillor Mick Finn, who is running as an Independent candidate in the upcoming general election, described the latest update as an “utter farce”.

“Starting from scratch again on a project that has taken a decade to get to this point is an absolute joke and proves that the government’s supposed planning for Cork as a counterbalance to Dublin is just that, a plan… without any substance,” Mr Finn said.

Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan reiterated his view that all documentation on the events centre should now be published.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD, claimed that retendering was “just an excuse to avoid dealing with this issue” before the general election, while his party colleague Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, described the retendering of the events centre as “an absolute farce”.

Mick Barry, Solidarity-People Before Profit TD, said that when the events centre had been first mooted, he had said it should be built by the State.

“I think the situation with social and affordable housing in this country is the best argument for why we need a State construction company to build not for profit but for the needs of society, but the Cork events centre is a definite point in that argument as well,” Mr Barry said.

In a joint statement, Cork Chamber, the Cork Business Association, the Cork branch of the Irish Hotels Federation, the Vintners Federation in Cork, and the Restaurants Association of Ireland expressed disappointment at the news that the events centre is set to be hit by further delays, but welcomed the commitment to delivery by Government.

“With a general election expected in the coming weeks, all parties must commit to delivering this key infrastructure project for Cork and the wider region as quickly as possible,” the statement added.

“It is vital that this new retendering process is undertaken and completed as a matter of urgency, and that clear timelines are provided for the events centre’s final delivery.”