A MULTI-MILLION euro restoration of Leinster House has been delayed for a year because the Department of Finance insists the job must be completed for a pre-agreed price.
The decision means that a contractor chosen by the Office of Public Works (OPW) will have to carry out a detailed investigation of the building before carrying out repairs next summer. Some rooms on the top second floor of the main building have been closed in recent months; they were deemed to be unsafe by the OPW because the floors were carrying too much weight.
The full project will probably not be completed until 2011 at the earliest.