A bike shed for the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin should not have cost €100,000, according to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and the country’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

The hospital received the funding from the National Transport Authority’s Active Travel programme for “safe and secure bicycle parking” on-site, and the design includes sensor lighting. 

Ms McDonald said it was a “slap in the face for the 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,” the Irish Times reports.  

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said, “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 also said that it was the opposition who wanted the bike shelter in Leinster House, which also caused controversy last year due to its cost.

The bike shelter built on the grounds of Leinster House, the parliament of Ireland, was revealed to have cost more than €330,000 (£280,000). 

The government at the time labelled the costs of the bike shelter, which didn’t even fully protect its bicycles from the elements, “extraordinary, inexcusable, and inexplicable.” 

Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan “It is the cost of constructing a house. It’s not even a shed, it’s an L-shaped canopy. So, your bike’s possibly still going to get wet. I think that there are answers that we require.” 

The Office of Public Works said that constructing the bike shelter involved “several unique challenges”, as Leinster House was “a protected structure of national importance”.

However, Ms Hourigan claimed she wasn’t sure if it was a “€300,000 sensitive site”, adding that it was “effectively a very, very simple structure”.

 A subsequent review revealed that neither the opposition nor the government was directly responsible for approving the funds.

In response to the new bike shed, the Taoiseach said, “I think you need to be careful. Are we saying that workers shouldn’t have facilities in an active travel context to reduce traffic congestion?” 

Ms McDonald replied, “You may smirk if you wish, the reality is that your government’s track record in terms of wastage of public money is absolutely incredible. 

“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? 

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“You’re not struggling to meet your grocery bill. You’re not struggling to make your rent or your mortgage.”

The Taoiseach responded, “What I would say to Pearse (Sinn Féin finance spokesman), would you go and design a bike shed there for you, would you? 

The hospital said the project includes destroying the existing bike shed, removing rubbish and any tree stumps present, as well as making improvements to the ground.