Robinson Centre foundation remains committed to raising €1.1m
The Mary Robinson Centre in Ballina was the subject of a Prime Time report.
The charitable foundation that will manage the Mary Robinson Centre (MRC) in Ballina has told Mayo County Council it is committed to paying €1.1 million for construction work on the facility.
The Victoria House Foundation made its comments in the wake of last week's programme on RTÉ, which raised questions about the future of Ireland's first Presidential Library. The Foundation said it remains in partnership with the council and the University of Galway and is confident that the project will be completed.
The original estimated cost of refurbishing the childhood home of former President Mary Robinson was €5.57m and expenditure to date on the project is €5.09m, which includes some costs attributable to fit-out works that occurred during construction. The council has funded €2m, including property acquisition, while other income sources include €2m from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, €100,000 from the University of Galway towards digitisation and €1.47 million from the Mary Robinson Foundation, of which €300,000 has been received to date with the remaining €800,000 outstanding.
“The foundation is fully committed to completing the payments,” said a council spokesperson. “The agreed approach in respect of the Mary Robinson Centre was that Mayo County Council would oversee and complete the construction and fit out before leasing the building to the Victoria House Foundation who would manage the operation of the facility.”
However, the council spokesperson said it could not put a firm timeline on the completion of the project.
“Significant preliminary work has been completed on the possible approaches to fit out including consideration of design, timelines and costings. It is agreed that the fit-out must be of a high quality commensurate with the expectations of the large numbers of visitors that the centre is expected to generate.
“Until this preliminary work is completed, and a fit-out specialist formally engaged, a firm timeline for completion of fit-out and opening cannot be determined but it is anticipated that the fit-out will take several months from the award of contract.”
