DIARMUID GAVIN’S controversial Sky Garden will cost between €1.2 million and €1.5 million and not €2.3 million as had been reported, Fáilte Ireland has said.
The tourism organisation will be funding the bulk of the garden, which won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show and will be put on permanent display in the Mardyke in Cork next year.
Several Cork city councillors vented their anger at council officials last Monday for not keeping them informed of the garden, which has been condemned as a waste of money.
Gavin could not be contacted for comment in recent days but in an article for The Irish Timesmagazine last Saturday, Gavin said the Chelsea garden cost €521,000, which was €100,000 under the €621,000 budget which was allocated to it by Fáilte Ireland.
A Fáilte Ireland spokesman said the maximum allowed budget for Chelsea was €638,000, which included €158,000 from Cork City Council. The final invoices had not been received so Gavin’s figure had not yet been finalised.
On Monday the capital expenditure plans for Cork City Council were unveiled and it included a maximum provision of €406,000 towards the Sky Garden going on display in the city. That money will go towards the transportation of the garden from Chelsea, which has already happened, and its eventual installation, which will occur next year.
Fáilte Ireland will also provide a sum of money to landscape the space around the display. A spokesman said they were confident that the whole attraction would cost no more than €1.5 million on present projections and may end up costing considerably less.
He defended the cost on the basis that the garden had received considerable publicity in the UK, worth millions to Ireland and would be an attraction that would pay for itself in the number of visitors coming to the city.
However, Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill, who has been a consistent critic of the process, said councillors wanted a meeting with officials to discuss the cost of the garden and its maintenance.
He described the potential hanging costs of the garden as “ridiculous”, with original invoices suggesting that it would cost €750,000 for a crane.
