Two Fine Gael Limerick councillors have accused Limerick City and County Council of wasting taxpayers money, over €20million proposals to construct a library, toilets, and additional car park spaces in Adare, Co Limerick.
The proposals come ahead of the Ryder Cup golf tournament, which takes place in 2027 at the five-star Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort.
Cllr Adam Teskey and Cllr Stephen Keary said the council’s plans to remodel the Adare Heritage Centre dwarfed the government’s controversial spending of €335,000 on a bike shed at Leinster house, saying the plans should be “reassessed”.
The two councillors said the council’s original plan to partially demolish the centre and construct a library, toilets and additional car park spaces cost €8-10million, but they complained this was revised to €20million without proper consultation.
“It is complete gross negligence and an mis-expenditure of money of the highest order of taxpayers money on a library, and it beggars belief that anyone could propose this,” Cllr Teskey said.
“Whatever about the Dáil bike shed, this might be the most expensive library and toilets in the world,” they argued.
They claimed councillors, local businesses, and the wider public were “mistreated, misled, and misguided” by the proposals; that the current application “is flawed”; and that “the plans should be reevaluated and specific costs established.”
They argued that the Council had failed to adhere to its own planning policy by “not putting the planning file on public display in the local area office”.
Cllr Teskey said: “It is also important to note the the advertised development suggests in its heading "A Partial Demolition" when in reality, in my opinion, 95 per cent of the building is being demolished. This is further misleading the general public and the application should be deemed invalid.”
Both councillors said they felt the revised plans were “not” in keeping with the “historic nature” of the tourist village’s thatched roof cottages and Abbey ruins, which are a favourite among tourists from North America and mainland Europe.
They said they were not opposed to the remodeling of the centre in principle, but argued they “could not support a project that has such a variation in proposed costs for tax payers money”.
“The public has a right to know what way taxpayers money is being spent and we are considering seeking a judicial review to the proposals”.
Both councillors put forward submissions to the Council’s revised Part 8 application, but said, “it was explained to us that we didn't have any jurisdiction over the limitation of funds that could be spent on the project.”
They also complained that €2million of the proposed project spend is to be earmarked for “consultancy” work, and stated “we cannot sit idly by and watch public funds be spent in this manner”.
They said that despite an average 2,000 people visiting the centre on a daily basis, it remained “a loss making facility”. They suggested to the Council executive that “it would be a prudent measure to refer it to An Bord Pleanala but we were informed that we couldn’t do that because the project wouldn't be big enough”.
Cllr Keary claimed the revised plans were being proposed “without any cost benefit analysis of tax payers money” and that, “while €8-10million is significant — to be proposing to spend up to €20m is absolutely ludicrous, it’s not fair on the taxpayer, and it doesn't seem sensible”. “The Council is being reckless in how it is spending taxpayers money”.
In response Limerick City and County Council said the development was “a strategic tourism and local amenity necessity and long-standing priority for the local authority, as the current facility is outdated, undersized and incapable of meeting modern demands”.
It said it engaged “extensively” with the local community and the “enhanced design” represented a “state-of-the-art civic and community amenity which includes a 500sqm community library, expanded exhibition and showcase spaces, optimised restroom facilities, and a redesigned car park increasing parking capacity by 25 per cent”.
It said it submitted a Part 8 application on September 6th following public consultation that concluded on October 18th, which “received strong community approval and was passed by the Adare/Rathkeale Municipal Area’s elected members on December 10th”.
It added: “Subject to government funding, this project could be completed by 2027 securing long-term economic and social benefits for Limerick”.
In a separate response, the Director General of the Council, Dr Pat Daly, acknowledged, “while it might have been better to also display the Part 8 application at the Council's offices at Adare/Rathkeale (this will be done going forward), the Council's policy regarding display of Part 8 applications has been adhered to”.
Mr Daly said the development proposals “do not represent a mistreatment of the existing businesses”; the application “is not considered to be invalid”; and the development description “is not deemed incorrect”.
Mr Daly added that “an advertised public display” of the plans in Adare was attended by approximately 47 members of the public, and the digital version of the application was visited (online) more than 200 times, and that an architectural assessment of the plans “considers that the design is sensitive to the site's heritage setting”.
