Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Leanfaidh mé ar aghaidh, agus má thagann an Teachta Barry, ligfidh mé isteach é. It is, incredibly, 1,000 days since the sod turning for the Cork event centre. It has been 1,000 days of missed deadlines, uncertainty and the people of Cork getting increasingly frustrated. It is not even as if that was the start of the story. We heard that work was due to start in the summer of 2015, then late 2015, before it went on to Easter 2016, late 2016 etc. It was February 2016, when the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, turned the sod in the teeth of a general election, that this whole train of events moved from process to high farce. It has become a matter of fact that it was an election stunt.

I want to be clear that I want this to happen and the people of Cork want this to happen. No one is raising concerns just for the sake of it. The potential is enormous. The project can bring much life to the city, major events and conferences and help regenerate that entire part of the city from North Main Street up to Barrack Street. Public confidence has, however, sapped away. As well as the landmark of 1,000 days, it is more than a year since the application for additional funding was made by Cork City Council to the Department in September 2017. Why has it taken so long for this application to be approved? The Government keeps telling us that it is committed to this project, but we still await approval.

I asked the Tánaiste in July whether he believed the Department would decide on that additional funding between then and the return of the Dáil in September. He said that was the intention but, so far, we still do not have sign-off. I recognise that the Government will say some of the responsibility for this project lies with other parties, including Cork City Council and the contractor, BAM, but the application for €10 million is with the national Government. Processing that application is one of the key steps to moving forward. Where is the Government decision on additional funding, when will it be made and when will final agreement on the additional funding be arrived at?

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