Flynn demands action on ‘empty’ Mary Robinson Centre

A WESTPORT councillor has called on Mayo County Council to take action on the use of the proposed Mary Robinson Centre building in Ballina, which currently lies empty.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn made headlines last week following comments he made that refugees should be housed in the Mary Robinson Centre building known as Victoria House in the heart of Ballina, saying it is currently vacant.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Cllr Flynn described the Mary Robinson Centre as ‘a mess’ with no plan to secure its future use, despite vast sums having been spent on it.

The facility will be the subject of an RTÉ Prime Time report which is set to air at 9.30pm this evening (Thursday February 8). 

“Over €5 million of public funds has been spent to develop the proposed Mary Robinson Centre,” he said. “However, two years after the completion of the build there is no sign of funding to fit it out, so consequently it lies empty, and there is no plan to ensure its future use.”

He continued: “Just down the road from the building the Council rents a building at a significant cost per annum. Tom Gilligan, the [Mayo County Council] Director [of Services] with responsibility for Ballina regularly states at our council meetings that vacancy and dereliction is a scourge on society. It is surely time that Tom and the senior management team moved from rhetoric to action in relation to the use of this building – over which they have full control – in order to salvage the €5 million plus spent to date.”

Presidential library

Victoria House is the childhood home of the former President of Ireland and it is planned to transform the building into Ireland’s first presidential library, similar to other institutions dedicated to ex-presidents in the US.

In correspondence forwarded to county councillors following a request for information, Martina Hughes, Head of Corporate Development and Communications with Mayo County Council outlined the costs of the project to date and confirmed that the final cost of the fit out has not yet been determined.

“As regards the construction of the Mary Robinson Centre, it was agreed by the members of Mayo County Council that the council’s input to the capital cost would not exceed €1.5 million,” she said, response to questions put by John Drennan of the Irish Mail on Sunday.

“Mayo County Council is the project lead for the construction of the project, which has now been completed, and the next stage is the fit out of the building.

“The original estimated cost of the project was €5.57 million, and the income sources for this project included funding from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht of €2 million, €100,000 from NUIG towards digitisation and €1.47 million from the [Victoria House Foundation community group] towards construction and digitisation, of which approximately €1.1 million was for construction, and of which €300,000 has been received to date. The amount to be funded by Mayo County Council was €2 million, including property acquisition.

“The cost of the fit out has not yet been determined and will depend on the detail of the fit out and any proposed phasing of the same. Some advance works were undertaken during the construction phase which would otherwise have been attributable to the fit out phase of the costs.

“The construction works on the building have been completed at a cost of approximately €5.3 million, and as outlined, the final cost will depend on the agreed fit-out solution.”

‘Not helpful’

Cllr Flynn commented that the response by Ms Hughes confirms that the council is still owed €800,000 by the Victoria House Foundation, saying that based on the latter’s published accounts he believes it is ‘without the means to meet its obligation or fund a fit out’.

However, Independent Ballina-based councillor Mark Duffy defended the Mary Robinson Centre project, saying he does not share Cllr Flynn’s concerns regarding the future costs of the building. He said that the fit out is the final phase and that he hopes it will be finished by the end of the year.

“The building itself has been restored and regenerated after a lot of work by Mayo County Council and the Victoria House Foundation, which is mostly made up of volunteers who have done very well to fundraise what they did so far.

“The fit out of the building will be the next and final stage of the project, and I am confident that we will see movement on this. I hope by the end of the year the doors will be open.”

Cllr Duffy went on to say that ‘dissenting voices are not helpful’.

“Like any project of this scale it needs support and oxygen, and people to believe in it, to get it off the ground. This is a very exciting project, not just for Ballina and north Mayo but for the west of Ireland, and will be a place for education and people to learn about the environment, social justice and women in leadership,” he said.

With regards to the costs involved in the project, Cllr Duffy said that he would be open to Mayo County Council continuing to support the project financially, adding that this question has not been asked of the council to date.

However, he also said that he is confident the €800,000 owed to the council will be recouped when the building is open to the public.

Quay Community Centre

Cllr Flynn made his comments regarding refugees using Victoria House at a meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District when he asked for the Quay Community Centre in Westport, which currently houses Ukrainian refugees, be reverted to community use.

In response to his request, Tom Gilligan stated that the Quay Community Centre is a vital cog in the council’s efforts to deal with Europe’s humanitarian crisis and the fall out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“There are currently no plans to change its current use of providing much-needed humanitarian support and respite from the suffering refugees are having to endure,” Mr Gilligan said.

Cllr Flynn’s motion also called for an agreement between the council and Westport Social Services to allow them the use of the kitchen in the Quay Community Centre for Meals on Wheels, as they must leave the building in which they are currently based. This was supported by Cllr Christy Hyland.

Cllr Flynn said he was disappointed with Mr Gilligan’s response, adding that Westport Social Services provide hot meals to 170 people around Westport and are in dire need of temporary accommodation.

“The Quay community and surrounds have lost the use of the building for cards, bingo, classes etc; they simply deserve to have this important community building back,” he said.