{"id":203628,"date":"2025-11-27T20:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/203628\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T20:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:55:09","slug":"childrens-science-museum-project-described-as-absolute-shambles-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/203628\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s science museum project described as \u2018absolute shambles\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A project to deliver a children\u2019s science museum in Dublin<\/a> city centre at a potential cost more than \u20ac70 million has been described as an \u201cabsolute shambles\u201d at the D\u00e1il\u2019s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).<\/p>\n

Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan made the remarks, and said \u201clet\u2019s call a spade a spade\u201d, arguing \u201cthe State has basically said \u2018we do not want this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Office of Public Works (OPW) \u2013 which is under a legal obligation to deliver a building for the project \u2013 appeared before the D\u00e1il\u2019s spending watchdog on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The science centre project was the subject of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) earlier this year.<\/p>\n

First proposed in the 1990s, the project led to the OPW reaching an agreement in 2003 with a registered charity, Irish Children\u2019s Museum Limited <\/a>(ICML), to build a children\u2019s science museum.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The construction sector collapse around 2008 scuppered this plan.<\/p>\n

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 \u20ac36.4 million.<\/p>\n

The Department of Public Expenditure later said the project should not proceed for various reasons, \u201cincluding the absence of a cost-benefit analysis\u201d, the C&AG report noted.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Mooted children\u2019s science museum could cost State \u20ac70mOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Following arbitration proceedings brought by ICML, the OPW was required to apply for planning permission and to proceed with the construction.<\/p>\n

Separately, Explorium, a privately funded interactive science centre, has been operating in Sandyford, Dublin, since 2018. The C&AG report said this \u201cmay limit the demand for another similar attraction in Dublin\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the PAC, C&AG Seamus McCarthy said that, by 2024, \u201cthe construction cost to be borne by the State stood at an estimated \u20ac70.4 million\u201d and the project has already cost the exchequer approximately \u20ac4.27 million in legal and other expenses.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

He said that he has advised ICML representatives \u201cthat, 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

In response to questions from Fianna F\u00e1il TD Seamus McGrath, Mr Conlon said: \u201cNo Department sought funding for it in the recent NDP [National Development Plan] discussions\u201d and this \u201cremains a fundamental issue\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr McGrath referred to the potential cost of the project, and sums already spent, and claimed it is an \u201cunmitigated disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n

A statement from the board of the National Children\u2019s Science Centre (NCSC), the trading name of ICML, said Ireland is the only OECD country without a national science centre for children and \u201cfuture prosperity\u201d depends on the country\u2019s ability to \u201cnurture the next generation\u201d of scientists and engineers.<\/p>\n

It said a 2023 report by the Oireachtas Committee on Education recommended that the NCSC \u201cshould receive the full support of Government\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement added: \u201cOver 20 years ago, the Board of the NCSC entered into an agreement to develop a national science centre for children, in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

It says that \u201cAt all times, the Board of the NCSC has sought to be supportive and constructive, including in the provision of business cases, when requested\u201d and it has \u201cconsistently sought to proactively and collaboratively engage\u201d in order to identify a sponsoring Department.<\/p>\n

It noted that the science centre has secured planning permission and said: \u201cAs a Board, we have committed to raising \u20ac25 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the PAC meeting Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan said that \u201cin principle the idea of the National Children\u2019s Science Centre, giving people good reason to, to come into the city\u201d is \u201cbrilliant\u201d but added: \u201cthis has been an absolute shambles\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Geoghegan suggested that at some point a Government Department could change their mind but asked \u201cif they\u2019re not going to change their mind, how are we going to reach a finality in this process?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Conlon said he had to be careful what he said because of the legal process but added: \u201cI am frustrated with this project since I became chairman. It does need resolution, I fully agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Explorium takes off, having missed out on being part of national children\u2019s science museumOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A project to deliver a children\u2019s science museum in Dublin city centre at a potential cost more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,553,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,105969,17419,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-203628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-fine-gael","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-latest-news","18":"tag-latestnews","19":"tag-main-news","20":"tag-mainnews","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-office-of-public-works","23":"tag-public-accounts-committee","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115623659096470022","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}