Vol. 501 No. 6
67 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the steps, if any, taken or envisaged by her to fulfil the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium to establish a Dublin centre for performing arts, including a conservatoire; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6899/99]
I refer the Deputy to my reply of 3 February last to Question No. 55 regarding the latest position in respect of the provision of a national centre for the performing arts, including a conservatoire in Dublin. The House will be aware that last year the Minister for Education and Science and I jointly established an interdepartmental working group to examine and report back on the feasibility of establishing an academy for the performing arts, including a conservatoire at Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin. The working group, under the chairmanship of Mr. Noel Lindsay, issued an interim report at the end of July last. This report concluded, inter alia, that the Earlsfort Terrace site is suitable for the purpose envisaged and could be adapted for such use. The group supported the idea of locating the academy there but stressed that certain critical issues have to be resolved before this can happen. How best to resolve these issues is still under active consideration.
The Deputy will appreciate that the issues involved are complex and multi-faceted and that their resolution will impinge on many State agencies and educational institutions. It would be inappropriate for me at this time to go into the detail of the issues to be resolved but I assure the Deputy that work is ongoing in the matter and that my colleague the Minister for Education and Science and I remain fully committed to the objective of achieving the establishment of a centre for the performing arts, including a conservatoire, so as to provide training opportunities for Irish students to develop their talents to the highest international standards.
Without being specific, will the Minister provide an outline of the difficulties involved? The Minister's reply was vague and contained evasive jargon. However, I am not accusing her of bad faith. Is the Minister in a position to provide a broad outline of the difficulties involved?
I would not like the Deputy to believe that I am using jargon in order to cover for inaction on my Department's part. The issue of establishing a conservatoire is dear to my heart and tremendous commitment and support has been given by the Minister for Education and Science and the Taoiseach to achieving that goal. We want this project to commence in the year 2000; it is not a pie in the sky idea, but one which will come to fruition.
The Department of Education and Science and the working group have been in contact with a number of interested parties. Not least among these is UCD in view of the fact that the possibility of using Earlsfort Terrace is under dis cussion. The Deputy may be aware that newspaper reports noted the interest of DCU in the project and that that institution, and others invited to do so by the public notice issued by the working group, made vigorous representations in respect of the academy many months ago. Many options have been put forward.
As stated previously, I would like the conservatoire to be established at Earlsfort Terrace but many issues must be considered before a final decision is made. If DCU or any other institution fulfils the criteria laid down, their proposals would be worthy of consideration. However, the Minister for Education and Science and I are continuing discussions with UCD and others. I reiterate that the Government views this matter in a serious light and we want the project to commence in the year 2000.
A number of questions have been tabled on this matter in recent months. Is the Minister convinced that this proposition will see the light of day?
Yes.
Has she approached the UCD authorities about the cost involved and their willingness to dispose of the building?
Yes.
Have they given their consent?
Discussions are ongoing and it would not be appropriate for me to reveal their content. Until we have completed our negotiations, it would not be appropriate to give that kind of detail to the House. I assure the Deputy that this project is being given serious consideration.
Therefore, it is not known whether the building will be available.
If the Deputy has a number of supplementary questions I would like him to ask them together because Question Time has come to an end.
Does the Minister know whether this building is available for this purpose? Have the UCD authorities given their consent to dispose of it to the Departments of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and Education and Science for this purpose?
The Deputy is aware that such negotiations are delicate in nature and until they are concluded it is not appropriate to provide details about them. However, the questions posed by the Deputy have already been posed to those who contacted the Department, including UCD, and who showed particular interest in this project.
Will the Minister assure the House that she will be in a position to report substantial progress by the end of the year?
That would be my intention.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
