Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 580 and 581 together.

The Cork Event Centre was included as a Government commitment under the revised National Development Plan in 2021. This underlines the Government’s support for urban regeneration, enhanced amenity and heritage, associated quality of life standards, balanced regional development, and the regeneration and development of Cork City Centre.

It was agreed by Government in the context of Budget 2020 that responsibility for making the grant funding available for the project would transfer from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to my Department. However, responsibility for the advancement of the project remains, in the first instance, a matter for Cork City Council.

As a flagship project under the National Development Plan, €50m of grant funding for the project was approved by Government in February, 2022 to support an investment of €35 million by the successful consortium; a potential additional €7 million of Government funding was also approved at that time to help cover construction cost inflation arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic however it was noted that the final additional costs to the State, related to construction cost inflation, could only be determined when the final detailed design of the project was completed.

Following completion of the detailed design of the Event Centre in the Autumn of 2023, Cork City Council, at the request of my Department, undertook a cost verification check on the final design and costing. This process is now complete and Cork City Council have submitted a Final Business Case along with supporting documentation. My Department is currently undertaking a detailed review of these submissions and there is ongoing engagement in that regard with the Council.

In order to maintain the integrity of the decision making process, it is not my intention to release and/or publish the documents which have been submitted to date by Cork City Council. I expect that a decision on the Event Centre could be made in Q1 of 2024, but this does depend on the outcome of the ongoing review of the Final Business Case and is ultimately a matter for Government