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Controversial plans for a 25 million euro whitewater rafting attraction on Dublin’s docks have been a major setback after the government rejected an application to fund the project.
Dublin City Council requested € 19 million to cover the cost of the George’s Dock scheme under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), a € 2 billion fund set aside for the rejuvenation of Irish cities and large towns.
However, Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien, whose department oversees the fund, rejected the request.
“Any plans for the advancement of this or any other proposed development for George’s Dock is a matter for Dublin City Council,” said Neale Richmond in response to a parliamentary question from Fine Gael TD.
The city council confirmed that the latest estimated cost of the attraction, which it insists it would be a major tourist attraction, has reached 25.4 million euros. When it was first proposed, the council estimated that it would cost 12 million euros.
When asked for a comment on the government’s refusal to endorse the URDF proposal, a council spokeswoman said: “Dublin City Council has nothing more to add.”
Tender
In January, the council sought expressions of interest from developers in the contract to develop the attraction, noting in a preliminary tender that the plan was “subject to financing.” The bidding process was initiated “to obtain a more realistic cost estimate” and the council said a final decision would be made once costs and financing options had been evaluated.
“Additional council funds cannot be allocated to the project and additional loans cannot be undertaken without the approval of elected members,” the council said.
Richmond said he would be “skeptical enough about the project, compared to other things that could be happening” in the city. He suggested that building an outdoor pool or lido might be a “more appropriate and more profitable” use for the site.
Dublin Rathdown TD said that providing central government funding for the proposal would have been “quite controversial” and suggested that the minister’s refusal to fund it could “cast a bit of a shadow on the project.”
“If Dublin City Council can argue that this is a national sporting need, then more power to them. He’s back to the council and his councilors now to support him, ”he said.
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