Bernard Allen
Question:24 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on the current position regarding the development of a national conference centre. [3537/98]
Other Questions. - National Conference Centre.
As the Deputy will be aware, the new tender procedure for a national conference centre is being organised by Bord Fáilte under the aegis of the independent Management Board for Product Development and conducted in full compliance with EU Council Directive 93/37/EEC concerning co-ordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts.
The full tender procedure notice was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 13 September l997. It was published in the Irish daily newspapers on 16 September. It invited applicants to submit requests to participate in the tender procedure by 5 p.m. on Monday, 20 October. Bord Fáilte received 12 responses within the deadline set for receipt of applications to tender. On 31 October invitation to tender documentation was dispatched by Bord Fáilte to seven qualified applicants, six of whom confirmed their intention to submit full tenders before the deadline set, 14 November, for so doing. The closing deadline for receipt of tenders was 5 p.m. on Monday, 2 February. Bord Fáilte received full tender submissions from five consortia and has now commenced its assessment of these submissions. Bord Fáilte and the Management Board for Product Development have estimated that it will be late March before their deliberations will be completed.
Under the terms of the Operational Programme for Tourism, the agreement of the Government and the European Commission, on foot of a cost-benefit analysis conducted in accordance with Community law, will be required in respect of the final selection made.
In a reply given by the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, to Deputy Naughten some months ago, the Minister pointed out the possibility of having to withdraw funds from this and other projects because of time constraints. Is the Minister confident he is on track to have the national conference centre built so that the project will qualify for the full funding under the operational programme?
Yes. This whole issue is now in its tenth year and I am quite confident that the procedures in place will bring this much needed conference centre to the country. I am sure the Deputy has the same view as I have on that. This whole area is vital to the expansion of tourism and to maintaining the incentive for businesses to set up in this country. We should all strive to make sure that nothing unhitches the plan we now have in place. I ask for co-operation from all those involved in this area. Regardless of where this conference centre is built, and it has to be Dublin, it will not only benefit that area but every area in the country. I do not want this project derailed now by objections from one area or another. I want it to come to fruition because we have striven in every way possible to ensure this project is in accordance with European Commission rules. To answer the Deputy, the project is more on the rails now than it ever was before.
I call Deputy Allen for a brief final supplementary.
In view of the Minister's decision in the early days of his ministry to dismantle the procedures set up by his predecessor, and in view also of the dangers I outlined earlier, will he outline the planned progression of the project? What is the date for acceptance of proposals? By what date must the project commence and be completed in order to qualify? What discussions has the Minister had with the EU to ensure the funding will be provided?
We have had continued discussions with the EU, particularly at the time the tender procedure notice was published. I have already given some of the dates requested by the Deputy. The tender documents are currently being studied and it is hoped a decision will be made by the end of March. With a project of this magnitude there is a period in which a cost benefit analysis is done. That will take approximately four to six weeks which means we are talking about April. I am trying to give Deputy Allen as much information as I can. I hope this matter will be sorted out by May or June this year.