The bike shed for the National Maternity Hospital should not have to cost €100,000 and value for money should apply, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said during heated Dáil exchanges with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Ms McDonald said it was “bike shed Groundhog Day” as she highlighted the tender for a bike shelter for the Holles Street maternity hospital, in the wake of the controversy last year over the €330,000 bike shelter at Leinster House.*
Describing the bike shed tender as “outrageous”, she told the Taoiseach it was a “slap in the face for hard-working families hammered by a relentless cost-of-living crisis, households for whom every single euro counts, who now hear that your Government continues to squander their hard-earned money”.
Accusing Ms McDonald of going for a “cheap headline”, Mr Martin said it was the Opposition who wanted the bike shelter in Leinster House, the cost of which caused huge public controversy. The Opposition actually wanted two bike shelters, he added.
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“It shouldn’t be costing outrageous sums of money and it should be done modestly with very simple structures put in place. It shouldn’t have to cost €100,000 to provide a bike shed,” he said.
The Taoiseach said the shed would be for hospital staff cycling to work. “I think therefore you need to be careful. Are we saying workers shouldn’t have facilities in an active travel context to reduce traffic congestion?” he asked.
Ms McDonald replied: “No, we’re saying that a bike shed should not cost €335,000, nor should it cost one hundred grand. That’s what we’re saying.”
She told the Taoiseach “you may smirk” but the Government’s “track record in terms of wastage of public money is absolutely incredible”.
[ National Maternity Hospital bill projected to reach 10 times original costOpens in new window ]
Ms McDonald said, “your performance there, your attempt at a smart-alecky narrative is probably the reason why, because you don’t take it seriously, because what’s it to you at the end of the day? You’re not struggling to meet your grocery bill. You’re not struggling to make your rent or your mortgage.”
She claimed the Government “throw away millions of public money, but at the same time, you’ll remove energy credits from households in the budget” and do nothing to tackle companies “gouging customers” and hiking up electricity prices.
But the Taoiseach retorted “your assertions are bogus, flawed and not serious”.
Amid Opposition heckling, Mr Martin said many infrastructural projects had come in on target and on time. He told Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty to “go away and design a bike shed for us and give us the costs. We’ll take it away and see what we do with it.
“Cop yourself on. For God’s sake, cop yourself on,” Mr Martin added.
Work associated with the €100,000 tender for the proposed shed includes destroying the existing bike shed, removing rubbish and any tree stumps present, as well as making improvements to the ground. The new shed which will include sensor lighting.
Over the weekend, the hospital said the project was aimed at providing “safe and secure bicycle parking” on-site.
The hospital said it was awarded funding for the project under the National Transport Authority’s Active Travel programme.
*This article was updated on September 30th, 2025 to correct an error
