Aquatic centre has links to Kerry pool

The people involved in the construction and management of the national aquatic centre at Abbotstown, Dublin, have long-established relationships that centre on Tralee Aquadome in Co Kerry.

The same construction and architectural firms in the Dublin project designed and built the Tralee centre. Its management is also linked to Dublin Waterworld, the company which will operate the Abbotstown centre.

Such arrangements are different to the proposals put by the consortium when it first sought the contract from Campus & Stadium Ireland Development (CSID) in 2000.

In addition, the controversy surrounding the determination of who would operate the centre resulted this week in the Government standing down the CSID executive chairman, Mr Paddy Teahon.

What is more, the report into the affair by the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, notes that the process of procuring a consortium to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Abbotstown centre was "reduced" to a design and build project.

There were "very limited effective obligations" to operate or maintain the centre, the report said.

The Abbotstown centre was designed by S&P Architects, the only company connected from the outset to the consortium selected to build and operate the centre. In circumstances that remain unclear, S&P's original construction partner, Multi Development Corporation, abandoned the bid. Multi Development is based in the Netherlands. Its Kildare-based replacement, Rohcon, is linked to another Dutch group, Hollandsche Beton. Rohcon has worked on many significant State contracts, including the restoration of Castletown House in Co Kildare and the Arklow and Balbriggan bypasses.

Although a dormant company, Waterworld UK, was selected by CSID to operate the centre, it essentially divested its interest in the project to a Co Kerry property developer and engineer, Mr John Moriarty, who controls Dublin Waterworld.

Mr Teahon's downfall came after he failed to inform the Government, his board and the special panel set up to award the contract of the dormancy.

In addition,disquiet surrounds Waterworld UK's transfer to Mr Moriarty of the rights and obligations of the operating contract. Mr Moriarty was described in Mr McDowell's report as a bona fide white knight.

Still, he did not enter the process until rival bidders had been eliminated - and after Waterworld UK's supposed backer, NBGS International, failed to guarantee its bid.

Mr McDowell said "it would not serve the public interest to discuss" whether the EU Procurement Directive was followed. Yet according to advice to Government from his office, Waterworld UK's minority stake in the Waterworld Dublin "could be deemed to fail to meet bid requirements".

Whether this was so or not, Mr McDowell's report revealed that both S&P and Multi Development made strong assertions about Waterworld UK's suitability for the project.

According to Multi Development, Waterworld UK was "one of Europe's leading water park operators with approximately 20 years experience operating the managing some of the most popular and successful resorts". S&P described the dormant entity as "the UK company of one of the world's leading waterpark operators".

Mr McDowell said: "From these assertions it is clear that an attempt was made to foster in the minds of SCID the impression, during the early stages of the process, that Waterworld UK was itself a leading waterpark operator with approximately 20 years experience."

Given that Waterworld UK was incorporated in 1997, it is hard to see how it could claim a 20-year record. The Irish Times was unable to contact the Multi Development managing director, Mr Nico Veldhuis, to ask why he made such an assertion.

In a statement on March 4th, S&P claimed to have worked since 1992 with the directors of Dublin Waterworld and Waterworld UK, and said the directors were involved in the National Aquatic Centre bid from the beginning.

Arrangements between the two Waterworld companies were "a matter for themselves", it claimed.

Despite this assertion, however, Mr McDowell's report revealed that S&P's principal shareholder, Mr Mark Potiriadis, was described as the "contact point" for Waterworld UK in its annual return to the Companies Office.

Mr Potiriadis's address was at 8/9 Grays Inn Square, the location of a the same solicitors' firm where Waterworld UK was registered.

When asked whether Mr Potiriadis or S&P had any comment, its director, Mr Scott Wallace, said: "We are still awaiting a full copy of the Attorney General's report, incorporating the annexes. We have downloaded the limited version available on the Internet. We will obviously have to study the full document when we receive it."

Rohcon declined to comment, stating that queries should be addressed to CSID.