Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This site was bought for more than the valuation, which the university eventually got and put its value at no more than €5 million. We are four years on, yet the university is not sure about who will partner with it and pony up the money, what amount will be required – even a ballpark figure – and whether the university will have enough for the upgrade. It is incredible that the university does not have a range for what this project will cost. If I was going to build a house, I would not start digging the foundations unless I had some idea of what the final cost would be - €200,000, €250,000 or whatever. If someone asked me whether it would cost more than €50,000, I would hope to be able to answer that question. If someone asked me whether it would cost more than €300,000, I would like to be able to say to myself that it would not without expecting someone to land in with a bag of money from God knows where.