![\"pearse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00245412-614.jpg\"\/)
\nPearse Doherty told the D\u00e1il that cheaper options were available<\/p>\n
The building of a bicycle shelter costing \u20ac127,000 at University Hospital Kerry is another slap in the face to families who are at breaking point, the D\u00e1il has heard.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in Spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty described the shelter as a pure waste and accused the Government of being serial wasters.<\/p>\n
This is coming at the time when patients are being treated on trolleys and there is a recruitment embargo in parts of the health service, he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Mr Doherty outlined that there were far cheaper options, including the building of a shed for \u20ac7,000.<\/p>\n
\nPearse Doherty told the D\u00e1il that cheaper options were available<\/p>\n
“If this was satire, it would be unbelievable,” he said.<\/p>\n
This revelation, which was first reported in The Kerryman newspaper, comes in the aftermath of the \u20ac336,000 previously spent on a bicycle shelter at Leinster House.<\/p>\n
“Another day, another bike shed scandal,” he said.<\/p>\n
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee defended the shelter at UHK, saying it went through proper guidelines and it was decided this was needed.<\/p>\n
She told the D\u00e1il that the Government was investing in active travel and wanted to encourage people to cycle to work.<\/p>\n
The minister said nobody agreed with the amount spent on the shelter at Leinster House and that the Office of Public Works has introduced changes to ensure it could not happen again.<\/p>\n
She added that all government departments must ensure that money is spent where it is needed.<\/p>\n
![\"helen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00245413-614.jpg\"\/)
\nHelen McEntee said the Government wants to encourage people to cycle to work<\/p>\n
Ms McEntee said there are large scale projects now coming in on time and on budget and told the D\u00e1il that the Government is determined that every cent goes directly to those who need it.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Public Accounts Committee is to write to the HSE over the cost of the new bike shelter at UHK.<\/p>\n
Chairman John Brady (SF) said it is “an extravagant building” which has left him “shocked and horrified”, especially given so many people are being “hammered” with cost rises.<\/p>\n
The committee this morning agreed to write to the HSE to find out, in Deputy Brady’s words, “why that money was wasted”.<\/p>\n
Mr Brady said the committee wants to know if the cheaper options were considered, and if so, why none was chosen.<\/p>\n
Labour reiterates call for mini-budget <\/p>\n
The Labour Party has reiterated its call for a mini-Budget for PAYE workers.<\/p>\n
Speaking during Leader’s Questions, Labour Spokesperson on Finance Ged Nash claimed the Government had “caved into sectoral interests and shelled out 750 million euro to buy their silence for a few weeks” in reference to to the recent fuel protests.<\/p>\n
“There was nothing for PAYE workers and they know it”, he added.<\/p>\n
Mr Nash said workers faced a number of challenges, including high grocery prices, “the highest electricity prices in Europe ahead of a harsh winter” and had to witness “a sham fight on college fees this week”, in reference to initial criticism from Fine Gael’s Maeve O’Connell of Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless for not committing to a cut in college fees this autumn.<\/p>\n
Responding, Minister McEntee said: “We can all see the challenges people are facing with money.”<\/p>\n
Deputy McEntee said the Government has already committed to making changes to income tax brackets, which she said would benefit ordinary workers.<\/p>\n
She said the Government will also look to reduce childcare costs, and that the Government is able to provide supports due to the Budget surplus it has developed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The building of a bicycle shelter costing \u20ac127,000 at University Hospital Kerry is another slap in the face…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-436955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}