Controversial Leinster House bike shed beset by delays and concerns over car parking spaces, records show

The election of Taoiseach Simon Harris proved a headache for the project as it rumbled on into late March, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show. Pictures: Arthur Carron/Collins

The €335,000 project to construct a bike shelter at Leinster House was hit by delays, with concerns over the removal of car parking spaces for TDs and senators as well as challenges over when work was allowed or not.

Internal records from the Oireachtas show the completion date for the controversial project slipped repeatedly.

Strict conditions were also put in place for the project on when work could take place, to ensure “full dust containment” and avoid any debris ending up in easily blocked historic drains.

The records go at least some way to help explain why the project proved so costly, with the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Feargháil telling the Dáil this week the final €336,051 bill was a “profound embarrassment”.

A meeting between the OPW and the Oireachtas last September was told the foundations for the project were to be laid in the coming weeks but that “effectively work can now only proceed during non-sitting periods”.

Notes of the meeting said: “A completion date will be around the 14th [of] January whereby the car parking spaces [for TDs and senators] will be returned for use.” 

The Oireachtas was worried about the temporary loss of parking spaces for politicians, records show.

By the following month, the project still appeared to be on track with “fabrication in process” and the “handover” date still set for mid-January.

However, by the time January came, the project was nowhere near finished, with minutes of a meeting saying the new completion date was now the second week of March.

By February, progress was delayed again — this time until the end of March and after the St Patrick’s Day break.

Loss of parking spaces

The documents also detail how the Oireachtas was worried about the temporary loss of parking spaces for politicians.

One email between officials last September said: “[We have been asked] to ensure that the hoarding around the proposed bicycle parking is removed before the sittings resume.

“We have lost approximately 10 parking spaces due to the hoarding, and that loss is not tenable once members return.” 

Other delays included encountering "large blocks of concrete" that needed to be removed, ensuring the "historic" drains were protected from debris and run-off and space constraints around moving the frame for the shelter.

Even the election of Taoiseach Simon Harris proved a headache for the project as it rumbled on into late March, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show.

An email between officials said: “The election of the Taoiseach is Tuesday 9th and therefore Monday 8th might mean no access for works on the bike parking on the Merrion side.”