Minister accused of ‘tone deaf’ defence of 127,000-euro bike shed at hospital

A 127,000-euro bike shed at a Kerry hospital “went through proper guidelines”, the Defence Minister has said.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty accused the Government of being “serial wasters of public money” as he criticised the 127,000 euro in expenditure on a bike shed at University Hospital Kerry.

Mr Doherty told minister Helen McEntee in the Dail on Thursday: “Another day, another bike shed scandal – and not for the first time involving your Government.”

The Sinn Fein finance spokesman said 336,000 euro was spent on a bike shed at Leinster House and almost 100,000 euro on a bike shed at Holles Street Hospital.

He said: “And now we have another bike shed: 127,000 euro for a bike shed at University Hospital Kerry.

“Another slap in the face to the ordinary people right across this country, workers and families who are already at breaking point – and this comes at the exact time that you’re imposing a recruitment embargo across parts of the health service.”

Mr Doherty accused the Government of seeing no problem with a “designer bike shed” when there were “vastly cheaper options available” – including less than 7,000 euro.

Ms McEntee said hospitals have to “stick to” budgets that are set, adding that “nobody agrees” with what happened with the Leinster House bike shed.

She said the Office of Public Works had put in new measures “to make sure that something like that can’t happen again”.

The Fine Gael deputy leader said the Government was “absolutely determined that every cent” of the 105.4 billion euro health budget goes “directly to those who need it” but added there was a need for balance in encouraging active travel and investing in communities.

She told the Dail: “With the project that you’ve mentioned in question, it went through the procurement process, it went through the proper guidelines, and what was delivered was what was decided was needed for the hospital in the place that it was located.”

Mr Doherty said Ms McEntee’s response was “tone deaf”.

He said: “People are sick to the teeth of your Government, which are serial wasters of public money, spending money over and over again on vanity projects.”