Plan for hospital bike shed costing up to €100,000 is ‘unacceptable’, says Sinn Féin leader

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has claimed that “the bike shed scandal is back” amid plans to spend up to €100,000 on a shelter at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin.

A notice on the Government’s e-tenders website invites submissions for a design-build team for a new bike shed.

Ms McDonald claims the project represents “another outrageous waste of public money” on the watch of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.” She says it is “unacceptable and must be stopped”.

In a statement, the hospital said the maximum value of the tender was €100,000 and it would be subject to a competitive process. It said growing numbers of staff cycle to work – many working 12-hour shifts – from across the city and “the aim of this project is to ensure they have a safe and secure facility in which to park”.

Criticising the cost of the project, Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said “no lessons” have been learned from the spending of more than €335,000 on a bike shed in Leinster House, which caused uproar last year.

“This is totally unacceptable and there is no way that this could represent value for money, particularly at a time when there are so many demands on our public health service,” he said.

Work associated with the €100,000 tender for the proposed shed includes destroying the existing bike shed, removing rubbish and any tree stumps present, as well as making improvements to the ground. The new shed which will include sensor lighting.

The hospital said the project was aimed at providing “safe and secure bicycle parking” on-site.

The hospital said it was awarded funding for the project under the National Transport Authority’s Active Travel programme.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Infrastructure, Emer Higgins, told RTÉ’s Week on Politics that “what happened in Leinster House, should not have happened”.

She added: “But at the same time, I don’t think we can say no doctor or nurse can ever get access to a bike shelter as a result of that. What we need to do is learn from lessons of the past, be transparent and deliver the best possible value for money. I would certainly be hoping that happens in this case.”