S&P, the British architects who designed the Aquadome in Tralee, played a major role in creating the impression that the successful bidders for the Aquatic Centre at Abbotstown had an international track record.
According to the Attorney General's report, they told CSID that Waterworld UK was associated with "one of the world's leading waterpark operators with approximately 20 years' experience in managing some of the most popular and successful resorts".
In an August 2000 letter accompanying the Waterworld consortium's bid for the Abbotstown contract, the architects said their clients' philosophy was "to maintain and improve their place in the market by constantly seeking creative and innovative ways to have fun".
CSID was also informed at the time by one of Waterworld UK's directors, Mr Keith Palmer, of his company's "connection to one of the world's leading aquatic leisure operators (Schlitterbahn) and manufacturers of leisure pool attractions (NBGS)".
S&P Architects (Ireland) Ltd, with an address at Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, were members of the consortium as well as its architects. Mr Mark Potiriadis, a principal in S&P Ltd, had also acted as chairman of Waterworld UK, according to the Attorney General.
Kit Campbell and Associates, CSID's leisure consultants, described the consortium's bid as "architect-led" and, therefore, its "prime mover" would be involved "only for a limited period", leaving it in the hands of two Irish pool managers and a "UK parent with no real resources".
In their "operational assessment" the consultants said the time taken to get tenders and select the preferred bidder had been "unrealistically short" and this had forced CSID to "take a short-term perspective" - though the "key risk" with the Aquatic Centre was a long-term one.
However, the Attorney General's report says that representatives of the Office of Public Works on CSID's assessment panel "did not receive Kit Campbell's report, nor were they advised of the existence of such a report" - despite financial standing being one of the requirements.
An earlier meeting of the assessment panel, in October 2000, received a report from Kit Campbell and Associates reviewing all three of the shortlisted bidders. It said CSID should be satisfied that S&P Architects were financially stable, but had "no knowledge of NBGS".
It was only the day before the final meeting of the assessment panel at which the Waterworld consortium's bid was accepted that CSID's accountants, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, discovered that Waterworld UK was a dormant firm with a share capital of £4.
Mr Aidan Walsh, of PwC, communicated this fact to Ms Una Carmody of CSID, saying he had "stressed to her that it would be essential to properly understand how they would finance the construction, manage it and deal with all the necessary operating risks".
Though the minutes of the assessment panel made no mention of any discussion regarding Waterworld UK's resources, a handwritten note among PwC's papers said CSID's chairman, Mr Paddy Teahon, had expressed "nervousness" about the winner not having "deep pockets".
A subsequent PwC memo quoted Ms Laura Magahy, CSID's consultant director of executive services, as saying at a meeting with Mr Walsh and Mr Kevin Kelly, of solicitors McCann Fitz-Gerald that they were now faced with "a contracting entity that has no substance".
According to the Attorney General's report, "the only members of the assessment panel who were aware of the legal advice were Mr Teahon and Ms Magahy.
With the exception of Mr Teahon himself, no member of the board of CSID were informed of the advice."
Though PwC had carried out corporate searches at CSID's request, the results "were not brought to the full attention of the assessment panel nor deliberated on by the panel with their full understanding of the legal position" - a fact Mr McDowell's report found "surprising".
The following day, December 19th, 2000, the Government - which was told nothing about the "dormancy issue" - decided to proceed with the Aquatic Centre and accepted CSID's recommendation that the contract should go to the Waterworld/S&P/Rohcon consortium.
The following month was spent trying to get assurances from those involved.
But on February 2nd, 2001, NBGS told CSID that it was "unable to provide the various guarantees and securities in the form and content currently required by CSID", the Attorney General says.
A month later Mr Kieran Rutledge, who runs the Aquadome in Tralee, told CSID that the management company, Dublin Waterworld Ltd, would commit a sum of £1.25 million to cover the cost of the consortium contribution (£500,000) and estimated pre-opening costs of £750,000.
But Mr Walsh, of PwC, was still not satisfied. In a memo, he told Ms Carmody, who is one of Ms Magahy's associates, that it "is not clear to me how any risks associated with the commissioning of the Aquatic and Leisure Centre will rest with the bidding consortium".
By that stage, it would appear that CSID had become aware of the involvement of Mr John Moriarty, the Tralee-based civil engineer and developer, in Dublin Waterworld Ltd, and sought a financial guarantee from him. This was eventually provided on May 4th for £360,000.
