Council CEO takes blame for Mountjoy delay - 'If you want a head, come for mine'

Incorrect advise around legal timelines means the Part 8 planning process for re-imagining of Mountjoy Square Park must start again, putting approved funding of €7.5 million at risk

Dublin City Council Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare takes full responsibility for the delayed rejuvenation of Mountjoy Square Park , telling representatives “if you want a head, come for mine”.

Although councillors already approved the re-imagining of Mountjoy Square Park at the June monthly meeting, incorrect advice about the legal timeline means the Part 8 process must start again from the beginning. “It is my responsibility and nobody else’s,” Mr Shakespeare said in the council chamber last night. “I’d assumed all the timelines had been adhered to.”

While some residents and representatives had concerns about the revamp, suggesting the park’s historic Georgian heritage was being prioritised over providing amenities, the threat of lost funding meant the plans were approved. My Shakespeare assured council members that even though the process has to be repeated, they will “make up time” to avail of the €7.5 million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) which requires construction begins by September 2027.

View 3 Images Mountjoy Square Park, Dublin (Image: William Murphy)

Restarting the Part 8 processes offers a chance to address the concerns that had previously been raised regarding the reimagining, with the desire for a full sized basketball pitch and enclosed play area for children being key points. Mr Shakespeare said they are endeavouring to respect the heritage of the park while providing modern amenities, stating “it’s not an easy one to juggle”.

“We hope to have a new process commenced before the end of the month,” he said, adding the local authority must do its “due diligence” given the protected nature of the park and that Part 8 planning will run in tandem with detailed design, “which means we shouldn’t lose as much time as you’d ordinarily think”.

Mr Shakespeare also suggested eliminating the non-statutory consultation aspect of their planning process. He said he is “not a fan of non-statutory consultation” as it leads to too much “chopping and changing” where “the general public gets confused”.

Disappointment about the delay was clear in City Hall, as councillors unanimously expressed their frustration and fear this managerial blunder could derail a project that’s been years in the making. Social Democrats Cllr Ellen O’Doherty said it is essential that things get back on track and the revamp is prioritised for the people of the area.

She said “an unforeseen setback is one thing” but criticised “no efforts” being made “to mitigate that setback and do justice for the people of the area”. Cllr O’Doherty stressed the focus now must be on “speed and litigation” to ensure no “knock-on effect” that causes it to “drag on indefinitely”.

Fine Gael Cllr Ray McAdam called for an internal review to get to the bottom of how the original timeline error occurred. He questioned if there have been other errors with previous Part 8s and whether this means they could lose out on other URDF funded projects.

Sinn Féin Cllr Séamas McGrattan suggested the area committee revisit the process during June's meeting to address unresolved concerns. Frustrated by the stalled plans, Cllr McGrattan pointed out that councillors only approved the proposal to secure funding. He highlighted that this setback is especially frustrating following environmental concerns earlier this year that halted the Martin Savage Park redevelopment .

View 3 Images Aerial view of Mountjoy Square, conceptually demonstrating the three ambitions of the proposal. 1 The Park, 2 The Railings & 3 the perimeter footpath (Image: Dublin City Council)

Mr Shakespeare defended DCC regarding Martin Savage Park, stating: “It’s not my fault the National Parks and Wildlife Service threw a grenade at me at five to five on the last day for submissions which made it completely untenantable.”

The Mountjoy delay was also likened to controversial renaming of Herzog Park which was halted last December as not being “legally sound” due to confusion around necessary place naming legislation. Independent Cllr Mannix Flynn said “Herzog Park was another situation where administrative errors took place and put us into a situation which was very embarrassing for the executive and members of this council”.

He said it “beggars belief” that a “grave error” of this magnitude could occur and that DCC has suffered a serious amount of “reputational damage” as a result. “For such an issue to happen in a city council with 5,500 staff and 63 councillors is almost unforgivable,” he said.

Cllr Flynn did commend the executive for taking responsibility at this stage and not allowing a situation where there “would have been a tremendous case in the courts” that the council “would have lost”. He stated it was right the Chief Executive took responsibility, but said there are more people who should be made accountable for this error.

In response Mr Shakespeare said: “It is my responsibility for the operation of the Executive, not individual managers. So, from that perspective I apologize for the oversight and we will do better and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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