Project management team set to be appointed to progress Cork Event Centre

A project management delivery team for the Cork Event Centre is set to be appointed next month.

Local government minister James Browne provided an update on the project to Cork South Central Fianna Fáil TD Séamus McGrath in response to a parliamentary question.

Mr Browne said: “The Government decision of October 22, 2024, reaffirms its commitment to and ongoing exchequer funding support for an events centre in Cork city”, adding that the project has also been included in the programme for government.

He explained: “The Government decision requires that the procurement process begins afresh and that a project development board (PDB), led by Cork City Council, be established to expedite the process.

“It also notes that every effort will be made by the PDB to ensure that the new procurement process, State aid clearance and planning compliance are completed within a 12- to 18-month period.”

The first meeting of the PDB, chaired by the assistant chief executive of Cork City Council, Brian Geaney, took place on January 24.

The PDB, which has representation from Government departments and agencies, as well as members with relevant expertise from Cork, is scheduled to meet monthly throughout 2025, he said.

“Cork City Council, under the guidance of the PDB, has issued tenders for a project management delivery team (PMDT), a multidisciplinary team that is being appointed to progress all phases of project delivery,” Mr Browne said, adding that it is planned that the PMDT will be appointed by May 2025 and work on the procurement documentation for the development can commence at that stage.

He added that city council is also carrying out a separate engagement process with the preferred bidder under the previous procurement process.

The total costs expended by Cork City Council to date are €1,616,457, inclusive of €1m received from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in 2015.

Mr McGrath described the Event Centre as "strategically important for Cork city and the wider region" and said that, as a new TD for Cork, he is seeking to "highlight the need for progress in every way possible". 

“I welcome the minister’s reply reiterating the Government’s commitment and outlining the process in place now to deliver this project. 

“The project development board has a challenging task, but I have every confidence in its chair and the board to drive this project forward.

“It’s important to have full transparency on the funding spent to date which I appreciate is extremely frustrating, however the focus now must be on delivering a world class Event Centre for the second latest city in the state at the earliest possible time," he told The Echo.