The roof on the National Aquatic Centre's largest pool did not comply with building regulations, a draft report commissioned by the Office of Public Works has claimed.
In the report, disclosed by RTÉ, engineering firm Kavanagh Mansfield & Partners found that the damage to the roof on January 1st was not caused by "exceptional storm conditions".
The report was drafted and sent to the OPW in late January. "In our opinion, the damage to the competition hall roof was caused by the failure of elements within the roof assembly. This failure could have occurred at wind speeds within normal design parameters for a building of this size in this location. Exceptional storm conditions need not have been present for this damage to occur," the document stated.
The aquatic centre was reopened in late May after extensive repairs were made to both roofs, which included the installation of hundreds of bolts along the length of the roofs of both buildings.
The competition hall roof broke away in the storm, even though "the forces did not exceed those which can be estimated for design purposes as possible to occur by reference to the normal design codes. We conclude that the roof decking did not comply with the normal design codes or in that regard with the building regulation," Kavanagh Mansfield & Partners told the OPW.
In addition, the fixings used to keep the corrugated aluminium topsheet in place on the roof did not comply with the requirements laid down by the manufacturers, Keybemo.
"The agreement certificate provided by this company [ Keybemo] indicates that the sheeting should be fixed by the halters through to the underlying purlins. This was not the case in this building," the report finds.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Mary Harney, though careful not to jeopardise the ongoing legal battle between Campus Stadium Ireland and the centre's operator, Dublin Waterworld, said she believed a roof on a modern building should not have been damaged in the way it was by the storm.
"This matter is before the courts and therefore anything I say, I need to be careful."
The Tánaiste was speaking in the Dáil under privilege. "I don't want to say anything that might prejudice the outcome of court proceedings but clearly it's not satisfactory that such a new facility that cost so much should be in the state it's in, [ to] have the roof taken off by wind.
"One would imagine a modern building of its kind would be able to sustain the kind of wind we had in January, major and all as it seemed to be, and that matter will be determined by the courts."
However, the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the disclosure of the report showed that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern misled the Dáil on Tuesday when he said the damage to the roof had been caused by the wind.
"It was not caused by the wind; it was caused by a failure in the assembly of the roof," said Mr Kenny. "It brings a new dimension to this Government's view on value for money when it defends €62 million being spent on a building whose roof does not meet basic design criteria. The Taoiseach now has to explain why he withheld the critical detail now revealed by RTÉ News."
Labour TD Jack Wall said the engineers' report "makes a complete mockery of Minister John O'Donoghue's recent claim that the €62 million invested in the centre, excluding VAT, was money well spent. Does he still believe this? Does he still think the public and the government got value for money? Does he still think it acceptable to have invested so much in a building with clear structural and safety issues?"
