Following a bailout loan from Waterford City and County Council last year, Mount Congreve management have requested for Waterford Council to underwrite an overdraft facility of €450,000 and to advance a subvention of €150,000 to help cover end of year costs.
These requests were supported by Council management, with the Chief Executive explaining that the gardens will not receive the overdraft unless the council underwrites it. While councillors made clear that they were not comfortable with the current situation in Mount Congreve, the requests were eventually granted by a majority vote.
Waterford City and County Council took over the management of Mount Congreve in 2018, to save the estate from dereliction and develop it into a national attraction. As Chief Executive of Waterford Council, Seán McKeown, explained: “We see it as a strategic tourism asset”.
Despite these intentions Mount Congreve Gardens have repeatedly run into financial difficulty, with Councillors calling for it to be handed over to the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Independent Councillor David Daniels highlighted some of the concerns around the proposal, saying: “A bank overdraft is an expensive form of finance and really just meant to be short-term. To give this amount of money … I would question giving this amount of money on an overdraft”.
“We have to stop hiding behind ‘it’s seasonal’. There are a lot of businesses out there that are seasonal and they manage their cash flow,” Cllr. Daniels added.
Sinn Féin Councillor John Hearne said in recent weeks that Waterford Council had no business managing Mount Congreve. “The people of Waterford have been asked an awful lot lately to subvent all the different projects we’re involved in”.
“Especially the likes of the property tax, I think it’s adding up to a lot. I think if we gave the people of Waterford free access to all our museums [and gardens] they would get something in return,” said Cllr. Hearne.
“A lot of them would never use it, but it would be recognition of the sacrifices they are making to keep these projects going. I don’t think that would be a bad thing to do,” he added.
This was supported by his Sinn Féin colleagues, Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Griffin, with Cllr. Fitzgerald saying: “We’re not being asked [for money] it’s actually the taxpayer who is being asked and the taxpayers of Waterford especially”.
Independent Councillor Donal Barry said that the scale of the project was simply beyond the scope of a local authority.
“Mount Congreve is a national treasure, but we have to be honest it’s not a local-level operation. It’s a 70-acre heritage estate that requires national-level management, funding, and expertise,” he said.
“Waterford Council has already done its part. We supported the restoration, helped reopen the gardens, and gave Mount Congreve a fresh start. We were told the attraction would be self-sustaining but visitor targets fall short again.
“We are not a heritage trust, we are a local authority with limited means.
“It’s not about abandoning Mount Congreve, it’s about securing its future. The OPW can provide the stability and professional care it needs, while the council focuses on the core services our communities depend on.
“For that reason, I would like to see the Council Executive begin immediate discussions with the OPW to take Mount Congreve back under national management,” Cllr. Barry added.
Despite these concerns, Mount Congreve board member and Fine Gael Councillor Pat Nugent stressed that the gardens were never going to be a short-term project, while Fianna Fáil Cllr. John O'Leary argued that the 30 jobs in the estate must be protected.
Cllr. Nugent emphasised that a lot has been achieved in the relatively short time the gardens were under council management, and suggested that Mount Congreve could become the centrepiece of Waterford’s tourism attraction if it gets the support it needs, as its development continues.
“I feel myself that when we took over the gardens it was far from a world class garden. It is not going to 2 years or 3 years, it will take 10 years to make it a world class garden. That is a fact,” Cllr. Nugent said.
“At the outset our budget was too low, from the time Mr. Cosgrave died to the time the State took it over, the amount of dereliction, and trees growing out of proportion and all of this.
“To get people into the gardens is the big conundrum. We know the restaurant is going fabulous. It is 35% over its budget this year.
“I think if we look down the road in 5 years’ time we could think, my god haven’t we some jewel in the crown,” he added.
Summing up his reasoning for supporting the motion, Mayor of Waterford City and County, Seamus Ryan, disagreed that gardens do not fall into the core services provided by the council, saying their support should include attractions, like gardens, that locals are proud to attend.
“I fully support what’s been asked of us here as a local authority we should be supporting gardens, museums, libraires. Otherwise, we come down to a local authority that fixes potholes, does roads or housing repairs only,” said the Mayor.
“We’re bigger than that, we’re more important than that. I’ve always believed that museums, libraries, gardens are a core part of the services being offered by Waterford City and County Council. They are the kind of activities that the public I meet want to visit.
“They want to be able to say this is something I’m very proud of that my local authority is providing this. As a Waterford person I’m very proud of all the award winning museums and gardens that we have.
“That doesn’t mean they get a blank cheque,” warned Mayor Ryan. “Nobody gets a blank cheque.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
