Camden Yard files to be made available to councillors after transparency push
Following consistent calls for transparency surrounding the purchase of the Camden Yard site by Dublin City Council, documentation will be made available to councillors.
The initial reports around the multi-million euro acquisition sparked controversy as councillors, such as Sinn Fein ’s Daithi Doolan, expressed their outrage at being “left in the dark” concerning such a major purchase. Now councillors are being invited to view documentation at the Liffey Room in the Wood Quay Venue on Friday, where a workshop relating to the carbon assessment will also take place.
Said to cost in excess of €90 million, the former DIT site on Kevin Street is planned to act as the location of a new Civic Offices for the council. Friday’s meeting will provide councillors with an opportunity for management and consultants to answer any queries they have.
The acquisition paves the way for 800 new city-centre homes - 300 at Camden Yard and an additional 500 at the council’s Wood Quay offices. While the total development is projected to exceed €670m, Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare justified the move by noting that retrofitting current offices to meet climate standards would have cost between €350m and €400m alone.
Cllr Doolan has consistently called for all documentation around the purchase to be made public , and issued a statement last Friday called the “secrecy” around retrofitting costs “unacceptable.” “All documentation and reports concerning the retrofitting of Dublin City Council ’s offices on Wood Quay must be made public,” he said.
“Sinn Féin supports developing council and affordable housing in Camden Yard. But the development of Wood Quay is based on a consultant's report that has been kept secret.
"Sinn Féin has called for openness from the very start. We asked for a briefing on Wood Quay in December. This was denied. We asked for a full City Council meeting. This never happened.
"Management claim that the only option for Wood Quay is complete demolition. They claim that the retrofitting will cost up to €500m. But no evidence has been produced to back up this argument.
"City councillors are being asked to support a multi-million euro project while being denied very basic information. This is unacceptable and wrong.
"€581m has been found for new offices, meanwhile tenants in Oliver Bond House and other flats complexes are condemned to live with mould and dampness. The whole process raises very serious questions. Councillors want answers and the public deserve answers too."
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme