The Galway bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2020 spent more than €1.5 million to secure the designation, according to documents released under Freedom of Information.
About €1 million was spent in 2016 on the joint bid by Galway City and County Councils, with a further €500,000 of an outlay in 2015. The process of applying for the ECOC designation began in 2014 but the outlay for that year was just €7,000.
The documents reveal that the biggest outlay for the bid was the payroll costs of Galway City Council staff assigned to Galway 2020, which amounted to more that €260,000.
The City Council has pointed out, however, that the staff were seconded from other sections and so their salaries had already been budgeted for.
The main categories of spending, which sucked up most of the funding over the two years 2015 and 2016, were: bid book development and presentation (€148,000); public engagement (€188,000); consultancy (€133,000); branding and marketing (€153,000); and project development (€163,000).
Galway 2020 also paid some €123,000 on pilot projects in locations right across the city and county including: Ballygar, Headford, Athenry, Rinville Woods in Oranmore, Merlin Woods in the city, Inis Oírr, Kinvara, Furbo, Ballybane, and Cregmore, as well as 26 schools across the Galway.
Other items of expenditure include office fit-out at the Cornstore, amounting to €14,000 as well as computers and office equipment totalling around €17,000.
Other outlays include: business engagement (€34,000), feasibility studies (€23,000), staff travel and subsistence expenses (€12,000), communications expenses (€11,000), printing and office consumables (€23,000), rent (€17,000), and management fees (€9,000).
The Council said that the €1.5 million outlay that has already been expended includes 70% of the final cultural programme for 2020.
The bid process included engagement with local communities and with a range of civic, social and cultural bodies in the preparation of not only two bid books but the roll-out of a significant programme of pilot projects across the county and city.
A spokesperson said more than 1,400 un-paid volunteers have also contributed significant numbers of hours to the bid and a range of organisations and companies have worked towards the bid with the bid team on an unpaid, benefit-in-kind basis.
The Council has pointed out that the amount already spent on the project will be covered by the €1.5 million Melina Mercouri Prize from the European Commission for winning the bid.
It expects a total budget of €45.75 million to come from public and private funding sources. As well as that direct impact, the spin-off to the economy will be “hundreds of millions”, the Council said.