Leinster House bike shed cost 10 times more than another bike shed completed at Garda HQ six weeks earlier
The "incredible" cost variation shows there is "one price for the political class, and another for everyone else", according to Aontu leader Peadar Tóibín
The Leinster House bike shed cost 10 times more than another bike shed completed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) six weeks earlier at the headquarters of An Garda Síochána in the Phoenix Park.
The agency also managed to build a bike shelter at nearby Government Buildings for one-tenth of the €336,000 cost of the controversial structure, which also featured galvanised steel and granite.
Records obtained by the Irish Mirror reveal that other bike-shelter projects were delivered by the OPW at Garda sites in Dublin and Cork for as little as €3,775 in 2022 and 2023.
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The vast difference in the costs paid by the agency for the bike shed at Leinster House and comparable projects elsewhere has been criticised by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín.
He said it was “incredible” that the Dáil bike shed had cost 10 times more than structures commissioned by the OPW elsewhere.
“There is a growing disconnect between the political class and the people. It’s largesse for those in charge and meanness for citizens in need,” said the Meath West TD.
Mr Tóibín said the latest revelations highlighted the need for accountability in respect of the Leinster House bicycle shelter.
“The bike shed is a symbol of all that is wrong with government procurement. It is the tip of the iceberg. The government is incapable of delivering basic infrastructure at a reasonable price,” he said.
“They are incinerating taxpayers with incredible waste. The source of this dysfunction is the lack of accountability. There has still been no accountability for the extraordinary waste of the bike shed. We still don’t know who signed off on the project or if there was any real discipline enforced.”
Records obtained by the Irish Mirror under freedom of information laws show that the OPW built a bicycle shelter in the courtyard at Government Buildings in February 2022 at a cost of €34,850.
It was constructed using galvanised steel with a painted finish, clear polycarbonate roofing, bolted down to a concrete slab with reinstated granite paving.
A curved bike shelter with capacity for six bicycles was completed at Anglesea Street Garda Station in Cork in March 2022 at a cost of €3,775. It featured clear polycarbonate glazing on the sides, rear wall, and roof, as well as high-security toast racks.
A shelter with capacity for 12 bikes was built by the OPW Garda HQ in Phoenix Park in August 2023 at a cost of €6,939. It included a seating area, galvanised steel supports, and box-profile cladding to the back and roof.
Three separate sheds with capacity for 30 bikes were completed at a cost of €34,091 at Garda HQ last June – just six weeks before the Leinster House bike shed was finished.
They featured galvanised mild steel with a perspex cover, accommodating 10 bike stands in each shelter. Extensive ground works included a new concrete slab, reinstated bollards, and reinstated ground finishes.
The records show that the cost of the Leinster House project was more than four times higher than all of the other bike sheds built by the OPW since 2022 combined.
When the Irish Mirror contacted the OPW for comment, they said in a statement: "In September 2024, the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kieran O’Donnell TD, requested the Chairman of the OPW to undertake a review of the Leinster House bicycle shelter project.
"The Chairman’s report was published on 25 September 2024 and is available here. The OPW attended meetings of both the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach in September and October 2024 to address the various queries and questions that Oireachtas members had in respect of his project."
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