Dept of Finance Security Shelter cost €1,429,000

I was involved in a design of a similar building a number of years ago. I don't remember the final cost, but I think it was around the 120k mark.

It didn't have the ornate swirl at the top which does not appear to have any practical purpose though.

The costs for some things like this can be eye watering because they have to conform to certain requirements. For example, I assume the glass is bullet proof, which makes sense.

That said, 1.4M is someone taking the piss.

Why would they have bullet proof glass

Agreed, this is a bit less clear cut than the bike shelter but the same logical reasoning can be applied.

The bike shelter, even with groundworks etc shouldn't have come near a spend of 40-50k and even that is exceptional. I am allowing for a lot of overheads there.

We may not know the specifics of the security shelter of have anything to compare it to but you can bet your bottom dollar it could have been done significantly cheaper, like the bike shelter.

As others have said the figures involved, the decision making process and the companies and individuals that the money ended up with needs to be published but they/it won't

Actually, we are in agreement here. I often find modern design dull and even depressing. Trains for example, if you compare trains from a century ago to that of today, the ones from 100 years ago were a thing of beauty. Lots of shiny brass, and truly something nice to look at. Other things from a similar era, Big Ben and its ornate clock face is truly wonderous.

I admit the hut does look nice, if only we weren't talking about it in the context of the 1.5 million splurge that was spent on it.

I referred to the top piece, simply because I can't think what else in it could have caused that price tag.

Once the swirly roof is taken away, it's basically a glass box.

There doesn't appear to be any ground breaking design on show .

I can understand the swirly roof to "aesthetics" purposes as some above said but could it not have been just a some siding put on street facing side of the Security Shelter to give it that aesthetic look, did it really need to be the whole roof. I'd say getting a posting to do security in that hut must be one of the plum jobs in the company that provides the security or is it the Gardaí.

The Germans being a particularly good example of this with Brandenburg Airport being a scandal multiple times as bad as the NCH and their rail system being an utter joke. Or a Spanish regional authority buying trains that didn't fit the rail tunnels.

The brandenburg example is trotted out again and again by those trying to justify this waste, its like saying ah sure even the efficient Germans waste money. But the fact that brandenburg became such a big story was that it was the exception and the Germans were horrified. The fact is that throughout Europe even in Spain they can deliver world class infrastructure, our state can't because it is grossly incompetent with no accountability, the officials responsible for this waste are shrouded in secrecy and are protected . I'm sure if it got to that stage the old gdpr excuse would be trotted out

We built a motorway network without any drama in fairness. Don't remember any other major projects causing as much to do as the Children's Hospital.

€190,000 was spent on providing a temporary structure while this one was being built. When whoever it was signed off on that bill, just for the temporary structure, the OPW obviously went "Well if they are ok on that for the temporary structure, we can clearly add a naught onto our original proposal".

its a handy number for them…having worked beside a government type place with simular type security on it, if its service officers(i think thats what they call them) they change over every hour,if its gards its every 2 hours from what i remember…

having studied pics of THE hut,there is no way on gods green earth there a mill and a half worth of anything on or in it,tis a glass box with a couple of push buttons for the barriers,a cctv monitor,alarm panels for the fire and intruder alarms and thats it,now unless it transforms into a super helicopter to whisk away the ministers and top civil servants in case of a zombie attack somebody pished away alot of OUR money…