Irish Examiner view: Plans must be matched by oversight

State spending

The site of the Cork Event Centre, formerly Beamish & Crawford brewery on South Main Street, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

The sense of anticipation about the prospect of a giveaway budget was not dampened down with the recent arrival of the summer economic statement (SES), which outlines the budget’s broad direction. In that regard, we learned of an overall budget package of €6.4bn, which includes €5.25bn in extra expenditure, with an additional tax package of €1.15bn on top of that.

One reason there is so much focus on the possibilities of this year’s budget is the unexpectedly high corporate tax receipts, which in turn has led to much discussion of where those receipts might best be spent. 

The range of opinions on this matter can be gauged by announcements such as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s declaration that he plans to expand free GP care to a further half a million people, while the possibility of spending some of those corporate tax receipts on once-off capital projects has also been aired.

With the latter in mind, there was something apposite about another story which filtered out yesterday, when this paper outlined some startling facts about the embattled Cork Event Centre.

Spending records released under freedom of information legislation show that, between April 2014 and May 2023, a total of €1,492,178.64 has been spent on this project, but most of that has gone on legal and management consultancy fees. Of that figure, €1m was provided by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media, but not a single brick has been laid on the site.

The coincidence here is striking, and the report on the events centre expenditure could be taken as a cautionary tale for those planning the nation’s spending in the budget. The best of intentions must be balanced by the strictest of controls as well as the will to implement decisions, which are not always harmonious impulses.

No one doubts that the Cork Event Centre is a project with the capacity to be transformational for the entire region, but the delays in construction have been appalling. In a similar fashion, the plans for the budget may be appealing prospects on paper, but those plans must be matched by decisive action — and tight oversight.