Council's legal budget won’t cover €420,000 Ferrybank Shopping Centre legal bill
Ferrybank Shopping Centre
As revealed at a meeting of Waterford Council yesterday, the total costs that the council must pay resulting from the Ferrybank Shopping Centre judicial review is estimated to be over €420,000
Following Waterford’s withdrawal of their judicial review concerning Ferrybank Shopping Centre in July, the local authority will have to foot the bill for all legal costs incurred by the council itself, Kilkenny County Council and Dunnes Stores.
Broken down, the legal costs spent by Waterford Council amounted to €195,129. The costs incurred by Kilkenny County Council is €149,027, while Dunnes Stores’ costs are €78,179.
The total legal bill Waterford must pay is €422,335.
As set out in the Management Report delivered at yesterday’s meeting, the Council expects that their own legal costs, totalling €195,129, can be accommodated within the Council’s overall legal budget for 2026.
However, this budget will not cover the costs incurred by Kilkenny Council and Dunnes.
Accordingly, an additional unbudgeted cost of €227,206 will arise.
Speaking to elected members yesterday, Chief Executive of Waterford Council, Sean McKeown, said that the Council have identified savings, primarily arising from salary and staffing expenditure, and from savings associated with vacancies which have not yet been filled.
These funds will provide the scope to meet the additional costs, Mr. McKeown said.
He assured that using funds from these areas to pay the legal costs will not result in any reduction in the delivery of essential day-to-day Council services.
Meanwhile, Mr. McKeown defended his decision to instigate the Ferrybank Shopping Centre legal proceedings, saying he believed it was the right thing to do.
