Mr. Con Hayes:

The timeline obviously depends on the funding. We have spent almost €20,000 on the third phase of our project to create the Lusitania museum on the Old Head. We are engaging the services of quantity surveyors to select a design team with us, which we expect to be done by the end of this year. That we can select a team does not necessarily mean that we can commission it, however. We cannot do so until we have the funding required. If we can get enough funding from SECAD and Cork County Council, though, we will be able to commission the design team to design the museum. Our estimate of the initial amount of that funding is between €70,000 and €90,000. That is the next stumbling block. If we are successful with funding, we will commission the design team almost immediately. It could possibly be in January or February depending on what happens in the meantime. We believe that SECAD and Cork County Council will look favourably on helping us to fund that stage of the project. It is a vital stage. If we could agree a design next year, we could go to planning, which would be the next major hurdle to cross. If all goes well, that side of the project could be completed in approximately 12 or 14 months' time.

Afterwards, the big issue will be capital funding. From where will we get that funding? Unless we get some, we will be stuck at that point. If we could access capital funding through the RRDF or Fáilte Ireland, we would go to tender to select contractors. We are in 2019. In 2020, most of the paperwork would be out of the way. If everything went smoothly, we could go to tender by the middle of 2021. If we were able to select a contractor, the museum could be built by the end of 2022. That is the timeframe within which we would like to see actions happening. I am a bit of an optimist, I have to say.