This came as the PAC heard that the Labour leader called for the bike shed initially at government buildings.
A letter from Ms Bacik, who was a senator at the time, and a number of other TDs and Senators from the Oireachtas Cycling Group, was sent to the Ceann Comhairle in October 2020.
The letter came to light during the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, when the OPW appeared to answer questions on a number of projects under its remit, including the bike shelter which cost €336,000.
In the correspondence to the Ceann Comhairle, the group criticised the lack of progress on the delivery of a bike shelter, and outlined that correspondence on the issue dated back to 2018.
“In particular, we refer to a letter to Senator Ivana Bacik dated 11 December 2019 from Senator Denis O’Donovan, then Cathaoirleach of the Seanad and deputy Chairperson of the Commission, promising the provision of additional covered bicycle parking spaces. Unfortunately, there does not appear to have been any progress on provision of bike parking facilities since then,” the letter said.
The correspondence was also signed by Deputies Ciarán Cannon, Patrick Costello, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Brian Leddin, Steven Matthews, Marc O Cathasaigh and Malcolm Noonan.
While senators Alice Mary Higgins, Rebecca Moynihan and Barry Ward also put their names to the letter.
The group said they called for sheltered bicycle parking “a matter of urgency”, specifying that a shelter was needed on the Merrion Square entrance to the Leinster House complex.
“Before the February 2020 election, Senator Bacik and other colleagues had already raised this issue on many occasions with the Commission. Senator Bacik had convened a meeting in October 2018 with both Oireachtas members and staff who are cyclists, and had passed on the concerns of all those who cycle to work at Leinster House to the Commission,” politicians said.
“In particular, we had asked then that a commitment be made to ensure that staff and members are encouraged to cycle to work and that the complex is made more welcoming for cyclists,” it added.
At the time the letter was written, no discussion on the cost of the shelter was discussed and did not come to light for a number of years.
The signatories requested a timeline for the delivery of improved bicycle services, as well as a “clear designated marking” around the bike spaces on the Kildare Street entrance, to stop cars parking in the area.
During the PAC meeting, Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor asked who ultimately sought the development of the bike shelter. The OPW’s Head of Heritage Services Rosemary Collier said the original request came from the Oireachtas Cycling Group to the Ceann Comhairle.
The request, which was sent to the Ceann Comhairle would have been considered by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, with whom the OPW have a monthly meeting with, Ms Collier told the committee.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the OPW, Ms Collier said.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Labour Party said “the Oireachtas Cycling Group asked for a bike shed not the Taj Mahal that we ended up with. It should’ve cost a couple of hundred euro.”
