Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am a little disappointed that the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is not present. I respect Ministers of State and do not generally have a problem with them, but there is not even a Minister of State present from the specific Department, which is somewhat disappointing.

A number of weeks ago in Cork, over the course of a glorious sunny bank holiday weekend, there were three sold-out Ed Sheeran gigs. The effect on the city was tremendous. The place was vibrant and hopping and had a festival atmosphere. In the midst of it all, the people of Cork got a glimpse of what a world-class event centre, as envisioned and talked about for so long, could deliver for the city and county. They got to see what it could do for local businesses, night life and so on in the city centre. The concerts went off without a hitch and the extraordinary potential and good that could come to the city from an events centre could be clearly seen. Unfortunately, when the conversation turns to having an events centre in Cork, many people roll their eyes. There is a sense of whether we will ever see one and whether it will happen, as opposed to when it will happen. That is because we have had false dawn after false dawn, delay after delay and missed deadline after missed deadline. BAM won a competition in late 2017 for €20 million in State funding from national and local government for an events centre. At the time it was estimated that the project would cost €50 million. The cost has since soared to €75 million to €80 million.

We heard that work was due to start in the summer of 2015, late 2015, after Easter 2016, late 2016 and so on. In February 2016 the Taoiseach turned the sod in the teeth of a general election. That is now almost universally accepted as being a complete stunt and nothing more. It is two years and four months since the sod was turned and as of now nothing, not even a brick, has been laid for the events centre. No planning has been finalised and there is no final design. A total of €633,000 has been spent without a brick having been laid.

The head of BAM, Mr. Theo Cullinane, accepts that will be tight and has even indicated that his company is willing to step aside for another contractor, notwithstanding the fact that it is fully committed to the contract. As such, the date on which this episode became a high farce was a long time ago. The Tánaiste was on local radio yesterday to inform us that the Government is fully committed and the project will be delivered. That has been the tune, I am sorry to say, for quite some time. Everyone hopes it will be delivered, but progress has been exceptionally slow.

I recognise that some of the responsibility for this project lies with other parties, including Cork City Council and BAM, but the application for additional funding of €10 million is with national Government. Processing that application is one of the key steps to moving forward. It appears, however, that the application process is tortuously slow. The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Josepha Madigan, informed me in January that, on 27 September 2017, Cork City Council made an application to her Department for a further grant to assist with the development of the project. She said the Department was assessing the application but that there were complex legal issues of state aid and matched funding to be considered. She said the Department was engaging with the local authority on those issues. The application for additional funding is itself dragging on. It has been with the Government for nine months. We were told three months ago that the issues had been resolved in principle, but we have no white smoke or certainty as to when we will get the grant.

My questions to the Minister of State are simple. 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?

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Josepha Madigan, who is in the Seanad dealing with legislation. The project raised consists of the design, construction and operation of a new multifunctional event centre in Cork city with a capacity of approximately 6,000 persons. It is envisaged that the event centre will be capable of accommodating a wide range of events including concerts, festivals, family entertainments, arts, cultural, sports, exhibitions, conferences and trade shows. The project is led by Cork City Council with the development company BAM having been selected by the council as the preferred tenderer. BAM, in turn, has engaged international events company Live Nation as the preferred operator. The project is ultimately being developed and managed by Cork City Council. This means that Cork City Council is ultimately responsible for its delivery.

A service-level agreement has been signed between the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Cork City Council setting out the terms and conditions for the granting of €12 million. The Department has already paid €1 million to Cork City Council. In addition to the €12 million provided by the Exchequer, Cork City Council itself plans to contribute €8 million to the project. When the tender was awarded to BAM by Cork City Council in December 2014, the total projected cost of the Cork event centre was €50 million. The latest financial projections provided by Cork City Council to the Department indicate, however, that the cost has increased to a significant extent. Last autumn, Cork City Council wrote to the Department seeking additional funding of €10 million for the project from the Exchequer. This would bring the Exchequer contribution to €22 million and total public funding to €30 million.

The development of a major new event centre in Cork city centre is very exciting and very much in line with what the Government is seeking to achieve in the context of balanced regional development and sustainable urban development under Project 2040. In the context of the application for additional funding of €10 million, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht must, as the sanctioning authority, ensure the project is robust, complies with the public spending code and will deliver value for money for the Exchequer. Due to its size and cost, this project has significant procurement, state aid, legal and matched funding complexities. The important thing is to ensure that the project is delivered in accordance with relevant legal and value for money requirements. I understand the Department is in discussions with the relevant stakeholders, including Cork City Council and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with a view to progressing these considerations as a matter of urgency.

The Cork event centre is a Government commitment. It underlines the Government’s commitment to culture. The new centre will constitute a substantial addition to the cultural offering in Cork city and county when it is complete.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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While the Minister of State is probably unaware of it, there is a Twitter account with a significant following in Cork which archives and catalogues the sorry history of the events centre. When the account became aware that I was raising this matter this afternoon, it tweeted “Standing by to be underwhelmed by the answer”. I must acknowledge that the account was right. I am rather underwhelmed myself. In fact, the answer is in three different fonts and has the distinct look of something dusted down from elsewhere and tweaked a bit.

This whole matter has gone on far too long at every stage already. Everyone knows that. However, I find the fact that the Minister of State is not even in a position to tell me when a decision will be made on this specific grant application very concerning and simply not good enough. Is the Minister of State even in a position to give us a date for a decision? There is less and less faith in the process and uncertainty is growing. The Government can restore some confidence and certainty in the process by making a decision on this and stating clearly when it will issue. Reports in the Irish Examinerfollowing on from questions from my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, highlighted the fact that there were issues with the licensing agreement on the initial stream of Government funding of €12 million. Can the Minister of State say whether the issue of the original €12 million as well as the €10 million will be dealt with as part of the same decision? Will a decision be made on both these matters as soon as possible? Can the Minister of State give us a date?

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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On the issue of the €12 million, I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Madigan, to provide the Deputy with a response. I am not in the Department and I do not know. On the application for €10 million, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht share the important role of ensuring there is value for money for the taxpayer and that the project is delivered. They are engaging in that process. The process does not have a timeframe of itself. What is clear, however, is that the Government remains committed to the delivery of the project.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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We have been hearing that for three years.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is hearing it from me for the first time today. The Government is committed to the delivery of the project. When the process of evaluation is completed, that will be announced. It has not been dropped or put to one side. However, there are a series of checks and balances which are the regular processes that any application for grant aid from the State must go through. This particular application is unique. Nothing like it has been done in the State previously.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is unique all right.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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When those processes are complete, it will be announced to the Deputy and the people of Cork. They should rest assured that the commitment to building the project remains as strong as it was in 2014 when Cork City Council awarded the tender to the victorious party.