logo
Crown Square Development is a ‘priority investment' as Galway City Council approves €60m loan

Crown Square Development is a ‘priority investment' as Galway City Council approves €60m loan

Galway City Council members have approved seeking a historic €60 million loan to finance a variety of capital projects – including the new civic offices in Crown Square.
At the July council plenary meeting, elected members discussed the allocation of this money into key investments throughout the city but some felt that it didn't meet the imminent needs of Galwegians.
Investment of the €60 million will enable works cross-departmentally in all areas of the city, and will focus on priority projects laid out by the council for their five-year term including:
Masterplans at Kingston, South Park and Renmore
Woodquay Park redevelopment
Pitches at Millers Lane
New multi-use game area at Renmore
Pitch drainage and skate park in Doughiska
Redevelopment of the Galway City Museum with Fáilte Ireland
Upgrades to cultural facilities
Public lighting upgrades, following damage from Storm Éowyn
Mayor of the City of Galway Cllr Mike Cubbard said that the loan 'represents the belief and positivity' of Galway.
He added: 'This is a young, vibrant, educated, artistic, Gaeltacht city, with a long tradition as an outward-looking trading port, over more than 800 years of history. This decision is an investment in our future - starting the enabling works for ground-breaking projects including the sports masterplans.'
Exact cost breakdown for each project is unavailable as the council remains in the procurement process for the fit-out of the Crown Square development. It 'remains a priority investment.' Finance Director Helen Kilroy said.
This loan comes shortly after the Irish Independent attended a special meeting and site visit to Crown Square where chief executive of Galway City Council Leonard Cleary said any other options but moving council offices into the new development would be 'fiscal folly'.
To date, Crown Square has cost the council more than €1.5 million. The building itself has depreciated €8m since it was acquired in 2022 but is estimated to increase in value in it's 40-year life cycle.
Part of the loan agreed upon will be designated to completing the fit out of the building.
Most elected members said the funding would keep priority projects moving with minimal delays and expand the budget for community investment. However, some councillors expressed concern that the loan, and the focus on the Crown Square development, does not address the city's most pressing needs.
Cllr Eibhlín Seoigthe said that though the projects listed are important to the city it does not 'address the biggest and most pressing need: housing.'
'I can't vote for this loan because I don't believe it reflects the people we serve.'
To explain, she added: 'The project list kept changing. The costs were kept deliberately vague. And not all councillors were properly briefed. That's not democratic. That's not transparent. And it's certainly not inclusive.'
Cllr Seoigthe's Social Democrat counterpart, Alan Curran, asked for a deferment due to a lack of adequate time to consider the magnitude of this proposal, as it is one of the largest loans the council has taken.
The repayment term for the loan is projected to be 30 years with an annual repayment of €3.1m. Repayments will be calculated based on the amounts drawn down over the term.
Now, Galway City Council will seek formal sanction from the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage and discuss the terms of the loan and drawdown. The formal application will be processed when the 2026 budget planning commences for the city.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Eoin Hayes readmitted to Social Democrats after eight-month suspension
Eoin Hayes readmitted to Social Democrats after eight-month suspension

Irish Daily Mirror

time9 hours ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Eoin Hayes readmitted to Social Democrats after eight-month suspension

Eoin Hayes has been readmitted to the Social Democrats after an eight-month suspension over incorrect statements about shares he held in a company linked to the Israeli military. Mr Hayes said he should have not held the shares as long as he did and has donated the equivalent of €43,443 to three aid organisations working in Gaza. He said the amount reflected the increase in the value of the shares he held over the course of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The Social Democrats won 11 seats in November's election but Mr Hayes was indefinitely suspended from the parliamentary party in December – just a month after being elected. He had initially told the media and his party colleagues that he divested shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies, prior to being elected to Dublin City Council last June. The company supplies technology to Israel's military. But he later revealed that he sold the shares last July – after taking office – for a pre-tax figure of €199,000. The Social Democrats had been calling for economic sanctions against Israel months before Mr Hayes' election to the council. The Dublin Bay South TD's suspension was reviewed by the national executive of the party before being considered further by the parliamentary party. Just after 6.30pm on Friday, the Social Democrats said his suspension had been lifted. It said in a statement the decision was made by acting leader Cian O'Callaghan in line with the party's constitution. "Eoin has been suspended from the parliamentary party for nearly eight months and I believe he should be given a second chance," Mr O'Callaghan said. "Eoin has a lot to offer as a Social Democrats TD and I look forward to working with him." Newly elected TD for Dublin Bay South Eoin Hayes (second right) with Social Democrat TD Jennifer Whitmore, Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan and Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon at Leinster House, Dublin (Image: Cate McCurry/PA Wire) Mr Hayes said: "At the outset, I want to give a full and unequivocal apology for giving the incorrect information to the media about when I divested from Palantir. "I also want to be clear that I should not have held the shares for as long as I did. "For that reason, I have donated $51,000 to three humanitarian organisations active in Gaza – split between UNRWA, Unicef and Doctors without Borders. "This figure represents the uplift in share price, less applicable taxes, from October 7 2023 to July 26 2024, when I sold the shares. "I know I have let people down and I am determined to work hard and earn back people's trust." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.

A redress scheme for school abuse survivors could become a ‘barrister-fattening exercise'
A redress scheme for school abuse survivors could become a ‘barrister-fattening exercise'

Irish Times

timea day ago

  • Irish Times

A redress scheme for school abuse survivors could become a ‘barrister-fattening exercise'

The senior civil servants who have raised concerns about the potentially enormous cost to the State of a redress scheme for victims of sexual abuse in schools have performed an important service. Our politicians and wider civil society need to think about these concerns very carefully. The bottom line is whether today's children, and those yet unborn, should be penalised for the sins of their grandparents, and even great grandparents – because that is what a redress scheme for past wrongs potentially costing tens of billions of euro will amount to. At a time when the Government is struggling to find a way to provide for the needs of the current population, the idea of devising a redress scheme on a 'far greater scale' than any other scheme in the history of the State, as the civil servants termed it, is something that needs to be thought through rigorously. The group of top civil servants based across the Departments of the Taoiseach, Public Expenditure and Finance, Education, Children and Justice have had the experience of previous public inquiries and redress schemes costing far more than was envisaged when they were established. READ MORE Successive governments have responded to pressure from the opposition and the media to get to the bottom of a variety of scandals and abuses by establishing judicial inquiries of various kinds, as well as redress schemes, without giving any great thought to their eventual cost. That cost has been borne by the exchequer, which is too often regarded in this country as some kind of bottomless money pit, rather than the fund that provides for the everyday services that keep the country's health, education and welfare services going. Of course some of the redress schemes in the past have provided well-deserved compensation to the victims of State neglect or abuse, but a large proportion of the costs of inquiries has gone into the pockets of the lawyers, and they have lasted far longer than anybody ever anticipated when they were set up. Then there is the question of whether the various judicial inquiries since the Beef Tribunal in the 1990s have actually achieved anything much for the people of the country, despite their cost. One clear achievement has been to dish out vast sums in legal fees in what was memorably described by Pat Rabbitte as 'a barrister-fattening exercise'. The commission of inquiry into the sale of a company called Siteserv to businessman Denis O'Brien, which involved a State agency, is a case in point. The controversy kicked off when Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy claimed in the Dáil in 2015 that insider trading took place before the company was sold. A judicial inquiry under Mr Justice Brian Cregan was established by the government in 2016, but Murphy then refused to give evidence before it. Immediately hamstrung by her decision to opt out, it reported seven years later, with the final cost estimated at somewhere in excess of €70 million. And what did the tribunal find? Simply that nothing untoward had taken place during the sale process. The scandal of abuse in schools is a very different proposition, but the basic fact is that the inquiry already established, never mind the potential redress scheme, will cost a considerable amount in legal fees and will take years, possibly even decades, to come to a conclusion. The commission of inquiry into abuse in schools under Mr Justice Michael MacGrath has been given five years to report but few people in the legal world believe it will have finished its task in that time. A time frame of 10 years is probably more realistic. The decision on whether to proceed with a redress scheme will be taken after the commission has started its work. [ The Irish Times view on the inquiry into the handling of child abuse in schools: a mammoth task Opens in new window ] The question raised by the civil servants needs to be answered before that happens. Is the State liable for the abuse that took place in schools? Will the religious orders who were responsible for the abuse be held liable? Can the victims sue the orders directly? A legal mechanism must be found to force them to pay, rather than making it the responsibility of the taxpayer. Analysis by the Department of Public Expenditure warned the Government against 'the significant risks' of a 'rushed' redress scheme, 'including the assumption of risk by the State when liability should more appropriately be borne by third parties'. The report said that recent case law on the liability for the actions of school employees found that 'the State does not have such liability'. At the heart of the reservations held by the senior civil servants about an open-ended redress scheme is the impact it is likely to have on the budgets for present-day needs. The priority must be for the State to deploy all possible resources to ensure the present generation of children are properly looked after. A range of services for children are underfunded, with the Departments of Health, Education and Children having to fight tooth and nail for scarce resources. Are they to suffer even more pressure on their basic services to fund payment for the sins of the past?

Shannon Blueway park offers pitches to tourism operators and investors
Shannon Blueway park offers pitches to tourism operators and investors

Irish Independent

time2 days ago

  • Irish Independent

Shannon Blueway park offers pitches to tourism operators and investors

The Beirne family is retiring and selling the nine-acre site and business near Leitrim village. It is also convenient to Carrick-on-Shannon which is on the N4 linking Dublin to the tourist spots in the north-west of the country. Overlooking 245 metres of river frontage, the property combines a Fáilte Ireland-approved caravan, camping and glamping park, a private 16-berth marina and a renowned pub and restaurant – Beirne's of Battlebridge. The business has featured in a number of TV programmes such as No Frontiers and At Your Service and is also included in The Big Pitch guide for caravanners and campers. It was recognised as one of Ireland's Top 10 Campsites in the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards. The park offers 43 hard-standing touring pitches and 20 tent pitches, all with electric hook-ups and water access, as well as a luxury glamping area featuring 11 eco-units. The site also accommodates a reception building, communal facilities, beer garden and a car park. The pub, known as Beirne's of Battlebridge, has received numerous accolades including a Guinness Irish Pub of Distinction award and a Black & White Pub award. An upstairs studio space could be converted to residential use. Occupying a corner site on a crossroads, it has road frontage on two sides. Commenting on its potential, Liam McCarthy of Savills pointed to its space for expanding the glamping facilities and serviced pitches. An adjoining field previously received outline planning for six detached houses, offering further scope for expansion or diversification. 'With diverse income streams, strong brand recognition, and a loyal customer base, it benefits not only from the continued growth in domestic and eco-tourism but it also offers a fantastic combination of lifestyle and investment appeal.' It consistently attracts repeat visitors and with its location on The Shannon Blueway, it has the potential to become a central hub for walkers, cyclists, paddlers and boaters exploring the region as it is also within easy reach of Lough Key Forest & Activity Park and the wider Shannon-Erne Waterway network. Battlebridge takes its name from the bridge where skirmishes took place when General Humbert led French and Irish forces to fight the British in 1798.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store