Ambitious plans to redevelop the National Concert Hall (NCH) promise to transform the Dublin venue into “the beating heart of music and music education in Ireland”.
In a memo for the Department of Culture, NCH chair Maura McGrath also said the multimillion euro project would form the core of a “compelling new vision” for the National Concert Hall, National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and associated choirs.
“The new facilities will offer the NCH significantly enhanced opportunities, not just for the site itself but also the National Concert Hall quarter of the city,” she said.
Beyond the vision and behind the scenes – and in a time of increased scrutiny on public spending – decisions have to be made on the project as it gathers pace.
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Internal documents obtained by The Irish Times show the organisation has asked the Government to guarantee the NCH will not have to fund the multimillion euro costs of the major redevelopment of its Earlsfort Terrace site.
Aside from the redevelopment, the NCH has also warned of other legacy human resources issues that pose “significant risks” to the organisation.
The NCH won planning permission for the project last September. It provides for the restoration and redevelopment of more than 16,000sq m of space in what it has billed as the largest redevelopment project in Ireland for a national cultural institution.
It will involve the expansion, refurbishment and remodelling of the main auditorium, a new rehearsal studio, extra performance and recital spaces, new creative spaces and studios for emerging artists and new practice rooms. Improved public facilities and civic spaces are envisaged.
The cost was originally predicted to be about €78 million under Project Ireland 2040, the State’s long-term plan for national investment, but a final budget has yet to be established.
The site was originally the Exhibition Palace from 1865 and it was the home of University College Dublin for decades before becoming the National Concert Hall in 1981.
Internal documents reveal that NCH chair Ms McGrath, who also chairs the Arts Council, sent a memo to the department last September outlining how it had “previously been advised that there is no requirement for the NCH to contribute to the cost of the project”.
“The NCH Board would welcome official confirmation of this from government,” she wrote.
The documents show that NCH also raised legacy issues last year stemming from the 2022 transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra and its associated choirs.
NCH chief executive Robert Read wrote to Feargal Ó Coigligh, secretary general at the Department of Culture, in an email accompanying Ms McGrath’s memo.
Mr Read said the memo referred to “significant risks posed by the unresolved and outstanding [human resources] issues” associated with the transfer of the orchestra and choirs.
He “urgently” sought decisions on a range of matters, including a request to “buy out” annual emolument payments made to NCH staff and to retain flexibility “to offer increased increments along the pay scale in order to appoint world-class standard of musicians”.
The NCH also sought a “one-off recognition payment” to two people, who it said provided interim leadership to the orchestra, combined with their existing roles, when its general manager moved to a new position in August 2023.
The NCH also asked for a similar one-off payment to junior members of the NSO team, who had to take on additional responsibilities “far in excess of their grades” at the time.
Ms McGrath’s memo also referred to the “difficulty and delay” in dealing with legacy HR issues, which she said were a “serious cause of concern” for the leadership and the board of NCH “and is a risk to business as usual at the NCH”.
Her memo said the “most significant risk” to cost control at the refurbishment project came from potential delays to the scheme, which would “incur greater inflation costs and impact on the NCH’s commercial and box-office income”.
Ms McGrath also urged clarity on the long-delayed National Children’s Science Centre, a stand-alone project not associated with the NCH but which will be located on Earlsfort Terrace, adjacent to the concert hall.
“While the NCH has no role in this project, the continued ambiguity on its future and the absence of a government decision on funding is a matter of considerable concern for the NCH, in particular as it relates to the future redevelopment of the Earlsfort Terrace site,” she said.
The Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard that development of the science centre could cost €70 million, amid concerns from TDs that the project could turn into a “debacle” and a “mini-national children’s hospital”.
The redevelopment of the NCH is to be split into two phases. The first, which is due to break ground next year and for which a tender process is under way, will encompass a Discover Centre in the former UCD pathology block, which the NCH has described as a “new vibrant hub for music engagement, participation and learning”.
The main project is expected to take place over several years and is expected to be completed in 2029. During that time, the orchestra and choirs will relocate to a temporary Dublin base and will perform around the country, Ms McGrath told the department.
In a statement, NCH said the correspondence with the department reflected normal and necessary engagement. “This forms part of standard, collaborative processes,” a spokeswoman said.
Regarding HR issues around the transfer of the orchestras and choirs to the NCH, the spokeswoman said “all such requirements are being progressed on a satisfactory basis”.
On the wider redevelopment plan, the NCH said it “operates fully within its allocated government funding and revenue frameworks, while also progressing our keynote transformation project for a renewed, future-focused national music institution”.
“As with all large-scale capital developments, it is expected that a range of matters and options will be examined and discussed,” she said.
She said the NCH had a “very close and collaborative working relationship with the department in relation to the delivery of NCH programmes, operations and projects”.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture said the ultimate budget for the redevelopment would be informed by the response to tenders, which are in the pre-tender project design phase. “All costs will be re-examined before any decision is made to award contracts,” she said.
The department said the project was one of a number being considered under the National Development Plan. “The development of the project is subject to continuous evaluation and planning”, it said, adding that a risk management plan had been developed, with regular meetings between the department, the Office of Public Works and the NCH.
Regarding the legacy HR issues, the department said the transfer of the NSO and choirs was governed by an oversight and a working group and it said a financial consultant was engaged to provide advice on pensions and benefits for transferring employees.
“Following extensive consultation, all queries relating to employees’ terms and conditions and pension entitlements were fully addressed.” It said it worked with the NCH to ensure workforce plans were consistent with government policy and were financially sustainable.
