Leinster House Bicycle Shed

Podge_irl · 07-05-2026 03:44PM

€127,000 for this seems perfectly reasonable to me?

CatFromHue · 07-05-2026 04:01PM

At least it will actually keep the bikes dry!

L1011 · 07-05-2026 04:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124450733#Comment_124450733

Possibly quite cheap for that. Didn't stop SF waving prices of a cheap metal cover from a catalogue, uninstalled and not accounting for site prep costs, though. Standard populist nonsense from them

elperello · 07-05-2026 07:16PM

If it was extra car parking spaces being provided at a multiple cost of €127k there wouldn't be a word about it.

OscarMIlde · 09-05-2026 10:15PM

There are bike sheds like that in St. James's. I wonder how much they cost. They are a reasonable thing to build, particularly given the prevalance of bike theft, but 127,000 seems an excessively high cost.

eightieschewbaccy · 09-05-2026 10:41PM

Seeing nothing wrong with it tbh. Staff don't have to worry their bikes will get damaged or stolen. Carpark for the equivalent number of cars would be multiples of it.

Seth Brundle · 10-05-2026 12:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124456775#Comment_124456775

but 127,000 seems an excessively high cost.

Roughly what should it cost in your view?

OscarMIlde · 10-05-2026 11:03AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124456999#Comment_124456999

I genuinely don't know, but they don't seem like difficult structures to build, so I would have thought 80,000 would have more than covered it, including the swipe access.

Cluedo Monopoly · 10-05-2026 11:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124456999#Comment_124456999

My guess after building my own house and recently pricing new windows would be around half that amount. It does seem excessive. If someone gave me a quote for 60,000 incl VAT, I would still question it deeply. Materials are glass, box metal and a galvanised flat roof.

I hope they don't do this in UCHG because I was in A&E a few weeks ago with a relative and there weren't even enough seats in the waiting area. Then we spent 3 days and nights on a trolley in the corridor. Even the doctor called it third world.

astrofool · 10-05-2026 05:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124457486#Comment_124457486

A lot of the costs will be site prep work and managing the work to happen at UCHG so it causes the least disruption to the operations there. Does FOI give a breakout of the costs or just the headline figure?

magicbastarder · 10-05-2026 05:05PM

in 2022, the OPW were paying nearly as much as it cost to build that permanent shed, for 30 car parking spaces for revenue staff. and that was a per annum cost.

The most expensive parking spots are 30 spaces for staff of the Revenue Commissioners, with rent of €105,000 being paid every year at a garage on George’s Street in Dublin city centre.

and they were paying ten times as much - per year - for parking in general.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/state-paying-13m-a-year-on-employee-parking-with-some-car-spaces-costing-3500/42237192.html

elperello · 10-05-2026 06:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124458170#Comment_124458170

According to Extra.ie quoting The Kerryman.

A breakdown of the cost by space equates to €3,184 per bike rack. The Kerryman reported that €49,990 was spent on steel works while the bike racks cost €7,800. VAT on the project came to €13,292, ground works cost €39,363, and electrical work, including CCTV, came to €16,940.

McEntee defends €127,000 spend on hospital bike shed https://share.google/WNogRWGeDKbpqwyRT

breezy1985 · 10-05-2026 06:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124457486#Comment_124457486

"Materials are glass, box metal and a galvanised flat roof"

And charging stations, electronic lock and fob system and CCTV. Also I'm guessing here but the area ll around it was probably re-landscaped.

Not defending the price but keep hearing how this was just some simple shed or bike stand which doesn't seem to be true.

Podge_irl · 10-05-2026 06:34PM

I genuinely hate everyone involved in trying to make this a story - opposition, media, everyone. Just pathetic all round.

It is a high quality shelter with CCTV that people will feel safe leaving their bikes in. "They could have put in some completely useless, unprotected U racks for a lot cheaper" is an absurd argument.

And simultaneously people will complain about treating the staff in the HSE poorly 🙄

accensi0n · 10-05-2026 06:37PM

Not sure about all hospital bicycle sheds, but any I've seen are always rammed. So they get good use, so seems reasonable in that context?

Lofidelity · 10-05-2026 10:27PM

In any rural town I've been in, nobody cycles to work. Everyone drives. Even school kids are chauffeured around. Thats because people live in estates and one off houses and theres no local bus. Dublin city, within the M50, is the only place with a cycling culture because its the only place its practical. I doubt Tralee is an exception.

eightieschewbaccy · 10-05-2026 10:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459207#Comment_124459207

Staff were very much so in support of the shelter. Also in terms of medical staff, parking is always an issue. So it definitely would be a preference for plenty of staff plus it's a saving financially.

astrofool · 11-05-2026 12:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124458433#Comment_124458433

So the VAT doesn't really count and the place to save money would have been on the steel works with a lot of cost going into the ground works (which would be the case for whatever was built).

elperello · 11-05-2026 10:03AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459366#Comment_124459366

If those figures are correct the whole thing starts to make more sense.

Ground works could include moving utilities and landscaping.

elperello · 11-05-2026 10:08AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459207#Comment_124459207

In rural towns where cycle lanes and other cycling infrastructure are built cycle journeys usually increase.

Also the Local Link buses have good uptake in the areas where they are provided.

Floppybits · 11-05-2026 10:28AM

Maybe they will use the bike shelter as an overflow for the A&E waiting room. A 2 for 1

breezy1985 · 11-05-2026 10:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459207#Comment_124459207

Seeing as we are talking about hospitals UHL has similar sheds and they are always full and so are a number of regular bike stands. I'm gonna guess Cork is probably far more like Dublin than it is your small rural town too.

Is it not the case that facility in Tralee was an upgrade from an older 20 bike facility which was too small for the numbers using it ?

Cyclingtourist · 11-05-2026 10:47AM

What have SF got against bicycles?

Don't they know that bicycles played an important part in the War of Independence carrying messages and in the mobility of forces.

Red Silurian · 11-05-2026 12:34PM

Wasn't the Leinster house bike ~~shed~~ shelter 3 times the price and only holds 18 bikes while the hospital one holds 40? You can argue it might still be excessive but at least we are heading in the right direction. The article on the last page says you can get bike sheds for 7k-20k but I'd be skeptical of that price - and you always have to add a premium for public money

Not to mention the Leinster house bike shelter is far less likely to get used as politicians are normally on holiday as opposed to our doctors and nurses who can sometimes pull an 80 hour week

astrofool · 11-05-2026 11:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124460108#Comment_124460108

Leinster house bike shed was a mess, the fancy roof on it seemed to drive up the cost immensely. Also, TD/politicians can be very weird about work happening at the seat of the government and can end up putting a lot of restrictions on it (Big Ben comes to mind in the UK where they had to maintain its facade even while it wasn't running, adding a lot of time to the restoration work).

Red Silurian · 12-05-2026 10:04AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124461800#Comment_124461800

I'd say the Leinster house bike shelter was was more a complete oversight by the person in charge. Some public servant saw a figure, signed off on it, and headed home for their dinner, after all it wasn't their money so why would they care? The shelters at UHK and UHL actually seem to be much better thought out by comparison.

In my opinion the hospital ones actually represent good value for what they are. As other's have correctly said, parking spaces cost a considerable bit more

elperello · 12-05-2026 10:36AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124462142#Comment_124462142

It may be useful to remind ourselves of the cost breakdown for the Leinster House job.

A breakdown from the OPW review shows €121,194.29 was spent on manufacturing, supply and installation; €52,886.84 was spent on groundworks including drainage and resurfacing; while the cost of granite landscaping amounted to €44,940.

A total of €30,468.69 was spent on dayworks, while almost €35,000 costs related to preliminaries and agreed variations.

What was exact cost breakdown with €336k Leinster House bike shed? https://share.google/NJq07YiKectGT9J0v

A lot of the cost was due to the proximity to the LH protected structure and the insistence on high cost finishes.

Of course the KUH structure is a completely different type of structure in a much less sensitive setting.

Red Silurian · 12-05-2026 12:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124462228#Comment_124462228

So just the manufacturing of the Leinster House version cost more than the total cost of the KUH shelter? Yeah that says it all really

Lofidelity · 13-05-2026 08:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459815#Comment_124459815

Cork is very hilly so cycling is difficult. Im happy to be proven a cynic but i cant imagine a nurse jumping on a bike after a twelve hour shift in A+E. Maybe the admin folks.

Just to add, a bike shelter for ten bikes, concrete floor and perspex roof, would cost about 8k.

breezy1985 · 13-05-2026 08:57AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124464339#Comment_124464339

Why does it matter what type of staff use it ?

Lots of nurses and doctors in hospitals don't work in A&E or do 12 hrs shifts too.

I'm pretty certain Cork has the highest per capita cycling numbers after Dublin but happy to be proven wrong.

Leinster House Bicycle Shed

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