14th May 2014
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Barry Keane, Fine Gael election candidate for Cork City Council has been following up on an issue he raised months ago.
Here is a statement from Mr Keane:
Shandon’s famous clock still has not been repaired six months after I first noticed that it was stopped.
The fault appears to lie with the City Manager’s office. I wrote to the acting City Manager three weeks ago and he referred me to the City Architect’s Office. The Architects office said that they had:
- Spoken with Shandon Church about starting work
- Put out tenders for the work
- Checked out the applicants to make sure they could do the job
- Appointed a contractor who was ready and able to start
- Agreed a price for the job
- Awaited funding approval from the Manager’s Office
I wrote immediately to the Manager’s Office asking for an immediate reply and I am still waiting.
Is there some reason why the Manager’s office has not (or will not) sanction the funds for Cork’s Iconic Clock. They can spend €1.5m on buying a Bank building they have no known use for and 30,000 doing up the Lord Mayor’s toilet but they cannot fix the city’s outstanding symbol when the contractor is ready to go and can start in a week.
I should not have to be banging this drum for the past six months. I should not have been referred to the Architect’s Office when the redtape is clogging the Manager’s Office. Get it fixed!