The Jeanie Johnston replica of an emigration Famine ship is now running at almost four times its original costs, a detailed report submitted to members of Kerry County Council disclosed this week.
The delay in finishing the 19th-century ship and its failure to leave for North America for a millennium voyage will add to costs and reduce income, Mr Martin Nolan, county manager, said in the report.
Originally estimated to cost £2.3 million, the ship and visitor centre at Blennerville near Tralee are now costing £8.38 million. Some £2 million in grant aid from the Department of the Marine in recent weeks is keeping the Jeanie Johnston afloat, this week's meeting of Kerry County Council heard.
Expected earnings of £1.5 million through sponsorship and events in North America in the year 2000 will not now materialise, if at all, until 2001 when the ship sails.
"The company has seriously misjudged the complexities and costs of building the ship itself," Mr Nolan said in his report.
More detailed risk analysis as well as tighter management of the project, which has outgrown its voluntary base, is to be put in place, Mr Nolan said.
"The ability and skills of a voluntary organisation to undertake such a large-scale project has to be questioned in the assessment of such projects in the future."
Mr Nolan also said the people involved were committed and dedicated and were prepared to work hard and honestly, but it did not follow that they had the skills for such a complex project.
Kerry County Council has guaranteed £2 million of bank borrowings for the project. In addition the council has guaranteed grant aid of £1.6 million to Shannon Development and Duchas. The financial guarantees are being shared by Tralee UDC. Staff members of Kerry County Council are also working directly on the project.
Councillors voted this week to continue to support the Jeanie Johnston, which is near completion at the port of Fenit, if only because "we'll have to stay floating with them now whether we sink or swim, we've gone so far down the road," Cllr Healy Rae said.
"The question is not will it sail, but can it sail?" Cllr Brendan Cronin (Ind) asked Mr Nolan.
But Mr Nolan assured the council that it would sail "absolutely" and would be safe and meet all Department of the Marine guidelines.
The Jeanie Johnston is a sophisticated project, being finished to the highest standards. It has the potential for vast earnings in North America and will be a flagship for Irish tourism and culture, the council heard.
Cllr Cronin, who has consistently opposed the council's involvement with the project, said the ship was the pipe-dream of a few wealthy and influential people in Tralee. "We have trouble enough with roads without going into ship-building," he said.