Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for welcoming the fact that the work on the Crawford Art Gallery is going ahead. The national cultural institution investment programme is a key investment programme for the Department under the national development plan. All of the projects, including the redevelopment of the Crawford Art Gallery, are progressed in line with the infrastructure guidelines. The purpose of the infrastructure guidelines process is to develop and refine the project, including the cost estimates.

The redevelopment of the Crawford Art Gallery is a challenging and complex project that requires a combination of conservation and new-build elements on a restricted city centre site. The original estimate at preliminary business case stage was arrived at in 2020, prior to the planning and design phase, and the project has changed substantially since then. There has also been considerable construction inflation of just under 40% since 2020.

In 2024, the project went out to tender in the market. Following the outcome of the tender process to determine the main contractor, integrated design team and reserved specialists, the overall project budget estimate for the Crawford development is now €93.1 million, including VAT. To date, €6.5 million has been spent to bring the project through to this stage. This figure covers investigative surveys, design costs, the costs of decanting the art works and getting the art works into storage. The remaining capital costs are estimated at €86.6 million.

In line with the infrastructure guidelines, the final business case has been completed. As part of this process, there was a reappraisal of all options to deliver this key project. It found the proposed option remains the best to redevelop the gallery on a cost and quality basis. To proceed with the redevelopment now is the most direct, timely and cost-effective way to deliver a new and revitalised Crawford Art Gallery that will be a landmark artistic and cultural amenity in the centre of Cork city and bring to conclusion a project that has been planned for many years. The contractor is expected to be on site in early 2026 and the project will be completed in 2028. The gallery fit-out, commissioning and reoccupation will follow prior to opening.

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