Elements of the design process could have been improved on the controversial steps and ramp project at a South Dublin park that ended up costing more than €700,000, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said.
In a report to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (Pac), the NTA said additional site investigations could have been carried out, including trenches and trial holes.
It said this “would have identified the uncharted services” that were ultimately found on site and which added to the cost of the project.
The Irish Times reported in January that construction of 14 steps and a ramp as part of a new entrance to Deer Park in Mount Merrion Park ended up costing more than €500,000 above the original estimated cost.
RM Block
The NTA also said “the tie-in details between the proposed works and existing infrastructure were not correct, which resulted in lost time and additional cost while they were resolved. The creation of a 3D model of the project could have assisted in identifying these issues.”
The NTA also maintained that the bill of quantities, a key aspect of a detailed cost estimate, “underestimated certain elements of the work and omitted others, which resulted in an inaccurate cost estimate”.
The NTA funded the project, which was delivered by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
In recent days, the National Transport Authority has provided a report to the Pac regarding the Deer Park project in response to questions from committee members as to how it ended up costing €753,500, including VAT.
The NTA said access to Deer Park from North Avenue had previously been restricted by steep stone steps, “creating significant barriers for wheelchair users, parents with buggies, and cyclists”.
This was “not in line with local or national policies to make areas accessible for all”, it held.
The NTA maintained that at the start of the scheme, the local authority had requested an allocation of €200,000 for the project.
“This estimate was done in advance of any detailed design work being carried out and, consequently, was provided as an indicative order of magnitude estimate only. Before the scheme commencing construction, an updated cost estimate was submitted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, identifying the construction cost at €321,000,” it explained.
“This estimate was based on more detailed design work which had occurred since the original grant application submission.”
The National Transport Authority said construction commenced in October 2023 and was completed in January 2025. It said during that time, “several issues arose”.
“Funding increases were sought from the NTA to allow for the additional cost. The final cost of construction was c. €760,000.”
The NTA said among the issues that led to costs escalating were that the steps previously in place were salvaged and found to have heritage value, that some utilities had to be diverted, and that additional measures to protect trees were required.
It said fees were incurred to switch off traffic lights and that contractors had to be demobilised and re-mobilised at additional costs due to an ESB live cable which had to be addressed and “due to insufficient design information regarding scheme tie-in arrangements”.
The NTA also said that construction workers had to be stood down temporarily while issues with design were being resolved.
Under the contract remeasurement of works process, actual quantities were found to be higher than the estimated quantities for a number of items. It was also discovered that certain required items had not been included and priced in the original bill of quantities.
“There were higher contractor overheads and traffic management costs incurred due to the longer delivery programme,” the NTA said.
