A COUNCIL has spent over €660,000 to restore a wall located in a ditch in Marlay Park, Dublin, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.

The restoration works of the aptly named ‘Haha’ wall, located within the south city park’s grounds, is six months behind schedule, €35,000 over budget, and cost roughly €3,300 per metre.

Local Independent councillor Michael Fleming has strongly criticised the cost of the project by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as ‘massively excessive’ and claimed it does not reflect value for taxpayers’ money.

Local stonemasons, speaking under a condition of anonymity, critiqued the work at the site last night and claimed they ‘would’ve taken the hand off’ the council at the price quoted.

One contractor, who works to repair walls in the south Dublin area, said the highest they would’ve charged for the wall, per metre, was €750 – and that was if ‘all costs were stretched’.

Details of the project were contained in a letter from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s Heritage Officer in response to a question by Cllr Fleming last month.

The heritage officer informed Mr Fleming that the cost of the project had risen from its original price, of €625,398, to €660,374.76. She detailed that both prices excluded all VAT charges.

Accounting for an approximate 23% VAT rate on stonemasonry work, the post-tax cost of the project, in total, is potentially estimated to be up to €820,000.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s (DLRCC) did not comment on the post-tax cost in a statement last night.

It said that the project involves the reconstruction of historic dry-stone retaining wall, stabilisation of embankments, drainage works, diversion of a stream and culvert repairs.

The 18th-century wall, located on one side of a sunken ditch, known as a Haha, was used as a barrier against intruders and to prevent cattle from encroaching onto Marlay House.

Mr Fleming told the Mail that while the restoration of the approximately 197-metre wall is welcome, the price of the project is ‘excessive’.

‘It’s great to see it being restored, but when you look at it – it’s coming at a cost of €3,300 per metre,’ he said.

He described the cost as a ‘considerable amount of money for stonework’ compared to what local stonemasons charge for their services, adding: ‘They would not be charging that money.’

While the independent politician – who narrowly missed out on a Dáil seat at the last general election – noted the project is a restoration effort, he believes the cost is ‘excessive’.

‘It works out to around €50 per block… I think it’s excessive. I wouldn’t have thought it would’ve cost this much,’ Mr Fleming said.

’I’m delighted to see it done, hopefully it will now last another couple hundred years… I believe we should be investing in our parks and playgrounds, our amenities for people.

‘But we also have to get value for money, which, in my opinion, was not achieved here.’

Restoration works for the Haha were first proposed in 2018 and were contained within DLRCC’s ‘Marlay Park Masterplan’ that year.

The refurbishment plan did not commence until May 2023 and, according to the council’s monthly management updates, its Heritage Office prepared a tender for up to a year after.

A copy of the original tender was not readily available on the central procurement website, and DLRCC did not provide one to the Mail last night.

It was not until March 2025 that the Heritage Office appointed a contractor to undertake the restoration project, according to details shared in the council management update.

The Heritage Officer, in her letter to the councillor, detailed that the works contract for the project did not commence until April 2025 and were due to complete last November.

She explained that the delay from the original anticipated completion date arose due to the impact of a storm in January 2025 – before the contract had commenced – and ‘wet weather’.

‘There has been a delay of approximately five months from the original anticipation completion date,’ she wrote to Mr Fleming on 22 June this year.

She explained that ‘a number of factors’ have led to the delay, including issues around the sourcing of the appropriate stone for the project and drainage works which were required.

The project, according to the heritage officer, was also delayed after spoil was found in the soil, which required the council to seek and obtain a permit before it could be removed.

She added that ‘the prolonged period of intense rainfall’ and damage to the wall because of a storm in January 2025 required ‘a pause in earthworks until weather conditions improved’.

The officer wrote: ‘The estimated final cost to complete the project is €660,374.76 excluding VAT.’

Speaking about the price, Mr Fleming said: ‘While Marlay Park’s concerts contribute a lot of money towards maintaining the park – which is really welcome – it is an excessive price.

‘If you were getting anyone to build a house for you and they came back and said: “We’re going to charge you extra for removing soil”, you’d be asking why it wasn’t done at the start.

‘Most private contractors will come across delays and weather conditions, they would all be factored in. But this has run over budget, by about 6%.’

Several stonemasons located nearby Marlay Park criticised the stonework and the cost of the project to the Mail.

‘I would’ve taken the hand off them for that price,’ one said, adding the ‘most’ they would have charged was €750 per metre.

It is the latest in a series of recent scandals surrounding the use of taxpayer money.

In January this year it emerged that the construction of 14 steps and a ramp as part of a new entrance to Deer Park in South Dublin ended up costing €750,000 – €500,000 above the original estimated cost.

In May, the building of a bicycle shed at University Hospital Kerry (UHK), which cost €127,000, was branded a ‘pure waste’ and another slap in the face to families who are at breaking point, by Sinn Fin’s Pearse Doherty in the Dáil.

Back in 2024 a €336,000 spend on a bike shed at Leinster House caused national uproar.

While the works have been substantially completed at the site in Marlay Park, a small area around a pipe remains and will be completed when concerts at the site conclude this month.

In DLRCC’s Marlay Park Masterplan, published in 2018, the council argues that the ‘architectural heritage within the park should be retained and repaired wherever appropriate’.

The section in repairs identifies the refurbishment of the Haha and includes a generated before and after image to indicate what the restoration may look like.

The council said at the time: ‘It is preferable to oppose the loss of any historic fabric unless a comprehensive, compelling proposal is put forward to suggest otherwise.’

It added that all interventions ‘should be simple in nature and easily reversible, using similar methods and materials’, and must be in line with all relevant planning and heritage guidelines.

A spokeswoman told the Mail last night: ‘The Council is satisfied that the project is delivering the restoration and long-term protection of an important heritage asset in accordance with the approved design, conservation and procurement processes.’

She outlined the several works that are required as part of the project, including specialist restorative works requiring supervision.

In a May 2023 notice board from the council, announcing the commencement of works at the Haha, there were initially two steps to the restoration.

The first was to temporarily stabilise parts of the wall by inserting a trench box, which would later be removed and ‘future-proofed’ as part of the second phase.