The Government may be legally forced to build and fund the operation of a new national science museum for children, potentially costing tens of millions of euro, after losing a key legal battle with the consortium chosen to oversee the project.
The National Children’s Science Centre plan dates back to 2007 and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who championed the idea of having a national science exhibit along the lines of the London science museum.
The museum, which was originally to be located near Heuston Station in Dublin but later moved to a new site beside the National Concert Hall on Earlsfort Terrace, off St Stephen’s Green, was shelved when the financial crisis hit in 2008. Planning permission for the centre was obtained in 2016, but a dispute then emerged between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the original consortium chosen to operate the project, the Irish Children’s Museum Ltd, which is chaired by senior counsel Michael Collins.
The consortium’s board includes several high-profile legal and businesspeople, including Ali Hewson, who is married to U2 frontman Bono.
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The dispute went to arbitration in 2020, culminating in a determination last month in favour of the consortium. Subject to clarification of planning permissions, arbitrator Eoin McCullough issued an interim award of “specific performance of the agreements” requiring the construction of the centre at the northern end of the Earlsfort Terrace complex by the OPW.
Government officials are said to have reservations about the project on cost grounds at a time when pressure on the public purse is significant and when other public projects such as the National Children’s Hospital remain mired in controversy.
The original cost of the scheme back in 2007 was put at €37 million, with the State providing the building, part of the fit-out cost and a portion of running costs, but construction inflation is likely to have pushed the cost higher.
Planning permission for the proposed museum has also run into difficulties. The OPW’s original planning permission fell foul of recent changes to planning law, which removed the possibility for existing permissions to be extended for developments where work had yet to commence.
The original plan was for a four-storey building, topped with a titanium dome to house a planetarium, overlooking the scenic Iveagh Gardens and connected to the back of the National Concert Hall through an underground tunnel.
The OPW said it would consider the arbitrator’s findings and engage further with the Irish Children’s Museum Ltd and all other parties involved in the process.
“In order to comply with the arbitrator’s decision the OPW must immediately reapply for planning and advance the procurement process to build the centre,” it said. “Given the complicated nature of the matter and the ongoing discussions on this project over almost 20 years, the OPW is anxious to bring any outstanding issues to a conclusion and looks forward to working with all those involved to achieve this as soon as possible,” it said.
The OPW has already spent over €500,000 on the appointment of a design team and consultants connected with the project.
Developing existing science venues, including the privately-run Explorium centre in Sandyford, south Dublin, which has been closed since Covid, is understood to have been discussed by Government officials. The controversy comes in the wake of the surprise closure last year of Trinity College Dublin’s Science Gallery.
