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

The Minister of State's response is not particularly clear, enlightening or encouraging. There is no timeline and he merely restated the process, with which we are more than familiar. The people of Cork are also more than familiar with it. The response speaks of the latest financial projections provided by Cork City Council for the Department which indicate a significant increase in the cost of the events centre. That is old news. There is also mention of an application for funding in September 2017, with which we are also all more than familiar. More delays are the problem. A total of €633,000 has been spent without one brick being laid. or perhaps it is more than that at this stage.

I note that meetings have been outlined by the Government and the Tánaiste recently in the Evening Echo. It is difficult for us to evaluate their value and whether they were fruitful, but I hope they were. If they were, surely it would be possible to give us a timeline as to when a decision is likely to be made on the funding application. Will it even be made in 2018 or will it drag on even further into 2019? I am not asking the Minister of State for a decision, but rather when will a decision be made on the application for additional funding?

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