With me are Mr. Gerry Kelly, director of social regeneration, Mr. David Higgins, director of finance, and Mr. Neil Mulcahy, secretary and director of property. I thank the committee for affording us the opportunity to present our annual report for 2007 and to outline the mission, objectives and achievements of the authority. I look forward to clarifying any issues members may have on these or other matters.
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority was established in 1997 under Oireachtas legislation with a mission to lead the physical, economic, social and cultural regeneration of Dublin's docklands. The authority consists of a chairperson, an eight-member board and a 25-member council, all of whom are appointed by the Minister. The council includes representatives of all stakeholders in the docklands area, including city councillors, residents and organisations engaged in community development and in the promotion of the social and economic interests of communities. Also represented are persons whose professions or occupations relate to town planning and architecture, heritage, industrial, commercial, employment, environmental or transport matters. In addition, there are ex officio members such as the city manager, the chief executive of Dublin Port and the director of the Dublin Transportation Office. The council represents a unique form of local governance in that its members are involved in the development and implementation of the authority’s primary strategy, namely, the production of our master plan and the development of our planning framework, known as planning schemes.
The authority is responsible for the successful development of a world class 520-acre economic hub in Dublin's docklands. We have faithfully followed the specific task set out for us in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997, which is to give equal parity of esteem to the social and community regeneration aspects of our brief as well as to the physical, economic and architectural redevelopment aspects.
To assess the progress made it is necessary to reflect on what the area was like before the authority commenced its work. With the exception of the International Financial Services Centre, the area was characterised by physical decay, poor public spaces and a lack of community facilities and housing. Certain parts were perceived as no-go areas. Many of the local communities in the hinterland of the docklands area had endured serious economic and social decline, with unemployment as high as 70% in some areas. This decline was a consequence of the industrialisation of the port area and the loss of manual labour and skilled jobs in the decades since the 1960s. In addition, many residents could not aspire to or afford decent housing and there was a significant backlog in the social housing waiting lists. The area was devoid of enterprise or business opportunities for employment and lacked infrastructure such as buses or rail transport. The general perception was that it was one of Dublin's most serious black spots, particularly the core area of the docklands.
The authority has always considered its social and community remit as its main priority. With this in mind, we engaged with all the stakeholders, including community representatives, public representatives and local and potential investors, to produce the 1997 master plan which set out the framework for the regeneration of the docklands. Prior to this, local schoolchildren were failing to realise their potential, with drop-out rates of 35% before 12 years of age and 65% before 15 years. Only 10% of young people completed their leaving certificate and less than 1% went on to third level education. The authority engaged with school principals and teachers and commenced a series of educational programmes which have involved, in the past ten years, an investment of €160 million in education, community facilities, community infrastructure and housing. These educational programmes were professionally designed on our behalf for disadvantaged schools and include programmes such as emotional intelligence, therapeutic management, crisis management, drama and sport, with significant emphasis on improving literacy and numeracy. Those programmes continue to be offered to local students today. The authority currently spends more than €370 per pupil per annum in the 25 schools under its remit, over and above the funding from the Department of Education and Science.
I refer the committee to an independent 2008 report produced by Professor Áine Hyland, former vice president of University College Cork, who has carried out a comprehensive assessment of the authority's remit in the educational area. The report concludes that the effect of the initiatives we have undertaken has been a reduction in the school drop-out rate from 65% to 30%. Moreover, the percentage sitting the leaving certificate has increased from 10% to 60%, while the percentage going on to further education has increased from 1% to 10%. These achievements represent a fulfilment of the remit bestowed upon us by the Oireachtas. We are proud to report on our progress.
In its master plan of 1997, the authority made it a requirement that all developers hand over 20% of their residential developments for social and affordable housing. This initiative preceded the introduction of the Part V planning provisions. Moreover, the authority has never to date accepted money or off-site allocation in lieu of on-site social and affordable housing provision. As a result, 319 social and affordable housing units of a very high quality and which are fully integrated with private housing have been provided in the docklands area. In addition, parks, children's play facilities and new community facilities are also in place. Last week, for example, we opened a new €10 million community resource centre in East Wall.
We have also invested in the physical regeneration of the area through the creation of new campshires, walkways and cycle ways along the River Liffey. The presence of boats, including the Jeanie Johnston and the Celtic Voyager, in the docks have enhanced the area. In addition, festivals and arts events have been important in changing public perception of the docklands. We have organised significant cultural events, such as the maritime festival, which attract tens of thousands of visitors every year.
The number employed in the docklands area has grown from 20,000 in 1997 to more than 40,000 in 2007. The area has become a location sought after by leading firms in the financial and legal sectors. Several international companies, such as Google, are located there, as well as many European bank headquarters. New infrastructure has been put in place, such as the Luas line to Connolly Station, which will be extended to Point Village by the end of next year. Bus services have increased and facilities for cycling and walking have been enhanced. Samuel Beckett Bridge, a major new bridge linking north and south, will be delivered by Dublin City Council this year. The national convention centre, which is being delivered by a partnership of the State and private sector, will be completed next year, providing hundreds of long-term jobs and contributing millions of euro to the city economy. The population of the docklands has grown from 17,500 in 1997 to more than 22,000 today. In all, the total estimated construction between 1997 and 2008 is more than 1 million sq. m. Total investment engendered from both the public and private sectors since 1997 has been of the order of €5 billion.
That all of this has been achieved on the basis that the Dublin Docklands Development Authority has never received Government funding or grant-in-aid, nor ever been listed in the Exchequer subheads since its inception, is surely a unique achievement. We have achieved our objectives through our own funding, generated by our commercial and business activities and planning levies. The authority does not receive commercial rates from the many businesses located there, which are rightfully allocated to Dublin City Council for the benefit of the city as a whole.
The duties and obligations of the authority are detailed under the 1997 Act. They include the production of a master plan, which originally was made in 1997 and updated in 2003 and 2008. Most importantly, the plan sets out the social and community objectives of the authority and must be prepared and approved by our council. As for planning schemes, which arise from the master plan, the authority is responsible for preparation of planning schemes in areas designated by the Oireachtas for that specific purpose. A planning scheme is a more detailed plan, which includes the nature and extent of proposed developments, distribution and location of uses, design, transport and conservation of the architectural heritage, community infrastructure, as well as culture and housing. Planning schemes that fast-track development, known as section 25 exemptions, involve extensive public consultation with all stakeholders. The purpose of such plans is to achieve the rejuvenation of docklands and not simply to regulate planning and development. Rejuvenation includes the provision of social and affordable housing, amenity space, schools, colleges and other essential infrastructure to make docklands a place in which people want to live, work and raise their families.
In addition to the planning scheme for the original Custom House docks, we have prepared planning schemes for North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock. More recently, the authority has commenced the preparation of a planning scheme for the Poolbeg area, which the Oireachtas in 2008 approved as being suitable for development. The draft scheme now is at the public consultation stage.
Under the ownership and development of land, the authority is specifically empowered by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act to acquire, hold and manage land, to provide a planning framework for that land and to secure its development, redevelopment, renewal or otherwise its best use. In a planning scheme area, it is clear from the legislation enacted by the Oireachtas, that the authority's dual powers of land ownership together with planning scheme powers should operate in tandem. This has operated in both developments, namely, the IFSC at Custom House docks and at Grand Canal Harbour.
It is very important for the joint committee to understand that the remit of the authority, as appointed by the Oireachtas, to deliver community and social objectives has been most successful when it has owned land within the planning scheme areas that it has developed. In the Custom House docks area, for example, financial gains from the development benefited educational community programmes and resulted in the provision of a third level college, which is a major success for the Dublin Docklands Development Authority in developing adult education programmes in the area.
In the Grand Canal Dock area, the authority purchased, of its own funding, 26 acres of contaminated land from Bord Gáis in 1998 for €15 million, at then current fully commercial values. The authority spent a further €48 million remediating the site. While this was a significant risk for the authority to take, it was justified in achieving its objectives in the master plan. Furthermore, it received on the sale of that development in joint ventures, €170 million in site premium payments, which the authority then utilised and ring-fenced for the aforementioned social, community and educational funding, as well as for purchasing further lands in docklands.
In addition, it delivered more than 232 units of some of the highest quality social and affordable housing in the city and generated a new public park, Chimney Park, which will open soon, at a cost of €1.2 million. It enabled the authority to provide the new 2,200 seat Grand Canal Theatre, designed by Daniel Liebskind, which will be a major economic driver for the docklands. Furthermore, it generated significant employment as thousands of jobs were involved in the construction of the area, which culminated in the production of one of the finest squares in Europe, Grand Canal Square, which is surrounded by new start-up restaurants and shops.
In the North Lotts planning scheme, the authority engaged in a compulsory purchase order of land to be in a position to deliver on family living and family housing. In addition, it provided significant funding to the Railway Procurement Agency to provide the Luas line C1 from Connolly Station to the Point Village, which culminated in the opening of a major income generator, the new O2 arena.
As for joint venture partners, for the authority to develop lands in its ownership, it always has sought to transfer development risk to the private sector. In the case of the 26-acre site at Grand Canal Dock to which I referred, the authority sought public tenders for a variety of development projects. The winning tenderer in all cases was required not only to deliver on its development to the highest architectural specification but to deliver on all the social and community aspects as well. In addition, the requirement to raise funding was specifically that of the developer, and the authority was not involved in that aspect of the process.
Under planning certification, we have a two-stage process. A planning sub-committee of the board has been established which meets our senior professional planners prior to each board meeting and considers the planners' reports. The sub-committee makes recommendations to the board on each application. Second, the full board meeting then considers the recommendations of the planning sub-committee and the planning reports and makes its decision appropriately. With the exception of its own developments, once a development is awarded exemption status, the authority has no further role and planning enforcement is a matter for Dublin City Council. Our sole role is related to compliance.
Under the corporate structure of the authority, I will outline three areas. First, the chairperson, who is non-executive, has the specific duty to ensure the efficient discharge of the business of the authority. Second, the authority's council, the make-up of which I described previously, has specific powers relating to the master plan. In the review of the 2008 master plan, communities have expressed satisfaction, by and large, with our planning schemes. The board of the authority is empowered to conduct the business of the authority and to perform all of the functions assigned to it under the Act. The board comprises eight persons, including the chairperson, all of whom are appointed by the Minister, and is non-executive.
The authority's executive is engaged by the authority to carry out all the day-to-day operations of the body, including the implementation of all decisions of the board and council. It also has responsibility for preparing all of the reports and recommendations in respect of applications under section 25 planning and is involved in all preliminary negotiations with developers and their professional teams. Neither I nor any other member of the authority's executive is a member of either the board or the council of the authority.
I refer to the authority's code of conduct and the Ethics in Public Office Act. The authority, at its inaugural meeting in May 1997, adopted a code of conduct prepared in accordance with best practice. The code has been revised in 2002, 2005 and 2007. In addition, the Ethics in Public Office (Prescribed Public Bodies, Designated Directorships of Public Bodies and Designated Positions in Public Bodies) Regulations 2004 designated that the chairperson and members of the board are subject to the Act and are required to make appropriate declarations. The code gives clear direction as to the procedure for disclosure of interest by members of the board and the impact of such declarations on the workings of the board. The provisions in the code have been consistently applied in full to the authority's business.
On the financing of the authority, when it was established in 1997 it acquired the assets and obligations of its predecessor, the Custom House Docks Development Authority, which had developed the IFSC from its inception in 1987. By careful management and efficient use of resources, we have functioned entirely as a self-financing entity and there is no Government subhead for the authority. It also does not receive any form of grant-in-aid or other direct assistance from the Exchequer. The 2007 accounts before the joint committee provide it with the current details of our financial incomes and liabilities.
In summary and conclusion, the authority's mission, as set by the Oireachtas, was to develop a world class quarter on a par with any contemporary European city in what was perceived to be a unique location. This model has been supported by successive Governments and, based on the achievements listed above, has been a successful model which has delivered significant gains to the local community, to the docklands area, and to Dublin city and Ireland as a whole. The DDDA has achieved more than €5 billion in public and private investment and has done so without any grant aid. As 40,000 people continue to work there, we have tremendous optimism for the future. In the next two years, the national convention centre, the Grand Canal Theatre and Point Village will all open for business. In addition, I refer to the continued success of the O2 arena, the opening of both the Luas lines and the Samuel Beckett Bridge, as well as the emergence of the foundations of the new underground interconnector. All these initiatives have been funded and are in place. These, and the continued work with our local communities and schools, give us confidence in the future.
I thank the Chairman and the joint committee for the opportunity to make a statement and to answer any further questions they may have.