Life & StyleQ&A

Why did the Leinster House bike shed cost so much and what happens next?

The Office of Public Works says €322,282 went on construction and installation, with €2,952 on archaeological services and €10,816 on quantity surveying and administration

The infamous bike shed on the Merrion Square side of the Dáil. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
The infamous bike shed on the Merrion Square side of the Dáil. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Conor Pope's picture
Conor Pope
Fri Sept 06 2024 - 14:24

Our leaders have a nice new bike rack at Leinster House? Great to see them supporting active travel isn’t it?

Hmm, that’s one way of looking at it.

Hang on, cycling is great. It’s better for you, better for the environment and - really cheap?

Is it cheap though? Cycling might be, but the Leinster House bike shed wasn’t cheap. It cost us €336,000.

Sorry, what? How could a bike shed cost so much? It must be massive and really fancy?

It’s neither. It can fit 18 bikes and seems pretty basic, with everyone from the Taoiseach to the Green Party – who you’d imagine are quite the experts on bike sheds – mystified by how so much was spent on so little.

Well, surely there is a breakdown of the costs somewhere?

According to the good people at the Office of Public Works, €322,282 was spent on the construction and installation, €2,952 on archaeological services, and €10,816 on quantity surveying services and “contract administration services”.

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What else has the OPW said about it all?

Well, on the day the story first appeared last Sunday, a spokeswoman was quoted as saying that because the “bicycle shelter is a new structure located within the setting of Leinster House, a protected structure of national importance... a well-designed structure with an appropriate use of high-quality materials and finish were required”.

[ If you laughed at the one about the Leinster House bike shelter, you’ll love the one about the loo rolls ]

Then, as public anger mounted, the OPW said it recognised “the importance of ensuring that public money is spent transparently” and suggested the construction of the bike shelter involved “several unique challenges” because of its proximity to Leinster House. We found out that the structure “consists of a steel-framed, glazed canopy to ensure long-term durability”, with Irish granite, glass and steel carefully selected “not only for their durability, but also for their compatibility with the historic setting of our national parliament”.

Well, we wouldn’t expect them to be parking their bikes in the rain like most of us, I suppose?

Oh don’t be silly, you don’t get guaranteed rain protection for 330 grand. “It’s not even a shed, it’s an L-shaped canopy. So your bike’s possibly still going to get wet,” said Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan, who suggested it could have been built for half the money – which would still make it a very, very expensive bike rack indeed.

What has the Taoiseach said about it all?

Simon Harris is as confused as the rest of us, describing the price as “inexcusable and inexplicable”. He said it was “the sort of thing that rightly angers and annoys people”.

[ Leinster House bike shed twice as expensive as a five-star hotel per square metre ]

So what’s going to happen next?

There’s going to be a review, obviously. And hopefully the bike shed will be jammers, because every second it’s not makes the cost seem more outrageous.