The Government has been criticised for its failure to deliver a promised events centre for Cork, on the tenth anniversary of a sod-turning event at the site by the then-Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.
"The lack of progress on the events centre is indicative of the Government's attitude towards Cork," Social Democrats TD for Cork South-Central Padraig Rice said.
He described the 2016 sod-turning, which occurred during that year's general election campaign, as "a nice photo op, but nothing more".
"At the time, the press release from the developer, BAM, said that a 6,000-capacity multi-purpose venue would be built within two years. A decade on, the only thing the people of Cork have been left with is a large derelict site in the city centre. It is nothing more than an eyesore with a new bridge to nowhere," he said.
"Outrageously, the latest information available shows that €2.2 million has been spent on the process so far. This must surely now be one of the most expensive vacant sites - and one of the biggest white elephants - in the city."
The development of an events centre on the site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery close to the city centre has been the subject of several delays.
Cork City Council says it acknowledges the frustration of the public.
In a statement, the city council said that, arising from a Cabinet decision in October, 2024, a new procurement process was required.
The council said it has put a "robust" process in place, as required by public procurement guidelines.
The process is being managed by project management consultants Aecom.
"A project development board is overseeing the process and its members have been meeting monthly since January, 2025," the council said.
It said a preliminary business case for the delivery of the events centre was submitted to the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government before Christmas. Approval of that business case is awaited to allow the tendering process to begin.
"The council expects to see substantial progress on this key project for the city in 2026," Cork City Council said.
BAM did not address delays
In a statement to RTÉ News, contractors BAM didn't address the delay in the project.
A spokesman said: "The Cork Event Centre Development Board are initiating a procurement process for an events centre in Cork. We will consider the detail of this process when it commences."
Marking the tenth anniversary since the turning of the sod on the project, Deputy Rice unveiled of a commemorative plaque at the site this afternoon, describing it as a "non-event centre".
"This Thursday marks 10 years since the sod was turned on the event centre project. This sad anniversary can't go unacknowledged," he said.
