Media Minister calls out City Council over Crown Square |
Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley
Minister Patrick O’Donovan has expressed surprise that Galway City Council borrowed €60 million for projects including the fit-out of offices at the new City Hall at Crown Square, while only pledging a small amount for a new Regional Aquatic Centre in Knocknacarra.
Not known for being shy and retiring, the Limerick Fine Gael TD, we hear, did not mince his words during a robust meeting with the Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Leonard Cleary and Head of Finance, Helen Kilroy.
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media was said to be taken aback when he heard that Galway City Council had pledged just €2m to the new swimming pool planned near Millar’s Lane. He juxtaposed that with the local authority borrowing €60m, an undisclosed part of which was earmarked for fitting out the spanking-new offices in Crown, purchased by the Council with another loan of €45.5m in 2022.
Rumours that Minister O’Donovan told Leonard Cleary to sell Crown Square and stay in offices on College Road, in an alleged off-the-cuff half-joking remark, were described as “wildly exaggerated” by sources in the know.
But Minister O’Donovan was not backward in coming forward on the need for the Council to pony up more cash for the aquatic development in Knocknacarra.
The meeting – organised by Minister of State Noel Grealish (Ind) – was described by some as a wake-up call for management at City Hall.
The Council was told in no uncertain terms that Minister O’Donovan’s Department was not pumping more money into the aquatic centre, unless and until Galway City Council upped its 10% stake.
According to those in the know, Minister O’Donovan met councillors and Fine Gael supporters after his exchange with Council management. During those chats, Minister O’Donovan suggested that Galway City Council was prioritising its own civic offices over new infrastructure for communities.
Of course, the Minister is correct. And what a breath of fresh air that somebody in authority has the gumption to tell the Council executive that, too.
As we’ve been writing here for years, Galway City Council’s move to Crown Square solved a problem that the public was unaware existed until three days before a plenary meeting in 2022 in which councillors approved a €45.5m loan to purchase the building, only to discover months later that another undisclosed amount needed to be borrowed to fit it out. The final figure for all this remains unknown.
The big problem now for the Council – and the communities it is supposed to serve – is that Government is cottoning on to this mistake.
And so, every time the Council looks for cash, civil servants and Ministers could point to the white elephant in Mervue as cover to say ‘no’. And would you blame them?
Pictured: Minister Patrick O’Donovan had a robust exchange with Galway City Council management about its expenditure on Council projects, such as Crown Square, while being less generous to projects in the community.