A project to deliver a children’s science museum in Dublin city centre at a potential cost more than €70 million has been described as an “absolute shambles” at the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan made the remarks, and said “let’s call a spade a spade”, arguing “the State has basically said ‘we do not want this’.”
The Office of Public Works (OPW) – which is under a legal obligation to deliver a building for the project – appeared before the Dáil’s spending watchdog on Thursday.
The science centre project was the subject of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) earlier this year.
RM Block
First proposed in the 1990s, the project led to the OPW reaching an agreement in 2003 with a registered charity, Irish Children’s Museum Limited (ICML), to build a children’s science museum.
It was envisaged the centre could be developed without the need for direct exchequer funding and an initial site was identified at Heuston Gate in Dublin.
The construction sector collapse around 2008 scuppered this plan.
The OPW still had a legal obligation to deliver the centre and under a new agreement in 2013, it was agreed to build a larger facility adjoining the National Concert Hall (NCH) on Earlsfort Terrace with an estimated cost of €36.4 million.
The Department of Public Expenditure later said the project should not proceed for various reasons, “including the absence of a cost-benefit analysis”, the C&AG report noted.
[ Mooted children’s science museum could cost State €70mOpens in new window ]
Following arbitration proceedings brought by ICML, the OPW was required to apply for planning permission and to proceed with the construction.
Separately, Explorium, a privately funded interactive science centre, has been operating in Sandyford, Dublin, since 2018. The C&AG report said this “may limit the demand for another similar attraction in Dublin”.
At the PAC, C&AG Seamus McCarthy said that, by 2024, “the construction cost to be borne by the State stood at an estimated €70.4 million” and the project has already cost the exchequer approximately €4.27 million in legal and other expenses.
OPW chairman John Conlon said when the project was first proposed in the early 2000s, sponsorship and financial support for the project was driven by the Enterprise and Arts, Sport and Tourism departments.
He said that he has advised ICML representatives “that, while I fully accept there is a binding arbitration award on the OPW, on behalf of the State, the fact remains that there is no sponsoring authority to fund the development”.
In response to questions from Fianna Fáil TD Seamus McGrath, Mr Conlon said: “No Department sought funding for it in the recent NDP [National Development Plan] discussions” and this “remains a fundamental issue”.
Mr McGrath referred to the potential cost of the project, and sums already spent, and claimed it is an “unmitigated disaster”.
A statement from the board of the National Children’s Science Centre (NCSC), the trading name of ICML, said Ireland is the only OECD country without a national science centre for children and “future prosperity” depends on the country’s ability to “nurture the next generation” of scientists and engineers.
It said a 2023 report by the Oireachtas Committee on Education recommended that the NCSC “should receive the full support of Government”.
The statement added: “Over 20 years ago, the Board of the NCSC entered into an agreement to develop a national science centre for children, in good faith.”
It says that “At all times, the Board of the NCSC has sought to be supportive and constructive, including in the provision of business cases, when requested” and it has “consistently sought to proactively and collaboratively engage” in order to identify a sponsoring Department.
It noted that the science centre has secured planning permission and said: “As a Board, we have committed to raising €25 million as part of a comprehensive philanthropic programme to support the NCSC, and to co-operating with Government on its requirements to get this much-needed science centre for children up and running.”
During the PAC meeting Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan said that “in principle the idea of the National Children’s Science Centre, giving people good reason to, to come into the city” is “brilliant” but added: “this has been an absolute shambles”.
Mr Geoghegan suggested that at some point a Government Department could change their mind but asked “if they’re not going to change their mind, how are we going to reach a finality in this process?”
Mr Conlon said he had to be careful what he said because of the legal process but added: “I am frustrated with this project since I became chairman. It does need resolution, I fully agree.”
