Local representatives in Galway have expressed concern that funding for the redevelopment of Ceannt Station may in fact be exceeding the project’s original budget, despite previous claims the development costs were on track.
It is now understood that the redevelopment is actually being implemented in line with a revised budget which has not yet been disclosed to the public – and the project is no longer following the original budget allocation.
Both the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Galway City Council – who are jointly overseeing the project – were unable to provide the current allocation of funding for the redevelopment of the station when contacted by the Advertiser.
The project is being overseen by construction company BAM, who are also the developers of the National Children’s Hospital.
Funding of approximately €12m had originally been allocated to the Ceannt Station project by the Department of Housing in 2021 through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
This was part of a total of €40.3m that had been ringfenced for four projects under the Galway City Council Transport Connectivity Project.
When it was reported last year that money earmarked for three of these projects had been diverted towards Ceannt Station following unspecified cost over-runs, Iarnród Éireann, the National Transport Authority and Galway City Council all insisted that the redevelopment of the station was within budget.
However, it is understood that the original budget is no longer being followed and that the city council have no knowledge of the revised budget allocation despite the fact that they are overseeing the project in collaboration with the Department of Housing.
City councillor Eddie Hoare (FG ) – who originally questioned council management regarding the diversion of funds away from other transport projects last year – said that the current allocation of funding for the Ceannt Station project should be made available.
“It is important that that information is made available to the public,” Cllr Hoare said while speaking to the Advertiser.
“While they might be saying it’s commercially sensitive, et cetera, while it’s an ongoing project, I still believe that, in the interest of transparency, that the costings should be made available.”
“If it’s over budget, it’s over budget. At least it can be budgeted accordingly, but the impact it’s having on delivery of other key transport projects in the city is leading to uncertainty… A number of other projects in the city have, and future projects could be impacted by it.”
Cllr Hoare also said that other city councillors had not been made aware of the costs of the station’s redevelopment.
“[It is] important that the costings and budgets for existing projects are made known to the public, and to us as councillors and also the Executive in the City Hall,” he said.
“My understanding is Galway City Council are unaware of the costings also.”
When both the Department of Housing and Galway City Council were contacted by the Advertiser to release the current allocation of funding for the project, both bodies issued an identical statement.
The statement said, “In respect of current allocations for these projects, the Department is currently working collaboratively with Galway City Council on a review of all its projects already approved … examining Galway City’s anticipated costs and delivery programmes in that respect.
“The objective of the review is to agree a revised delivery programme (and potentially revised allocations ) to maximise the funding available, thereby ensuring timely delivery of these transformative projects without interfering with project progression. This review is ongoing.”
