Nora Owen
Question:30 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the position regarding the national conference centre. [24524/99]
Other Questions. - National Conference Centre.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Question:38 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the discussions, if any, he has had with EU officials regarding EU funding for the proposed national conference centre; if he has satisfied himself that the £26 million allocated in EU funding is still available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24530/99]
Ivor Callely
Question:107 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the EU funding, if any, available for the national conference centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24714/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 30, 38 and 107 together.
The Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-99, includes provision for 33 million ecu, approximately £26 million, in European Regional Development Fund grant aid for the construction of a conference centre in Dublin capable of handling up to 2,000 delegates.
Following the failure of processes in 1995 and 1996 to secure an appropriate proposal, a new tender procedure, organised by Bord Fáilte under the direction of the independent management board for product development and conducted in accordance with EU Council Directive 93/37/EEC, was launched in September 1997. This process culminated in June 1998 in the selection of the proposal submitted by Spencer Dock International Convention Centre Limited to go forward for European Regional Development Fund grant aid to develop the conference centre at a site in Dublin's docklands. The proposal was then subjected to an independent cost benefit analysis.
In September 1998 the Government agreed to the making of a submission to the European Commission recommending formal approval for a 33 million ecu European Regional Development Fund grant towards the cost of developing the project. The Commission's approval in principle for the grant was notified in November 1998 subject to resolution of an outstanding procedural complaint and a decision on the compatibility of possible preferential tax regimes with State aid rules.
The Commission closed its file on the complaint in April 1999. Since then and following consultations between the developer and Bord Fáilte, I have been in correspondence with the Commission about how the schedule for completion of the project can be accommodated within the various operational programme and CSF deadlines.
Agreement was finalised on contractual details between Bord Fáilte and the developers and submitted to my Department on Monday, 18 October last. The developers have undertaken to execute these contracts in the event of an appropriate extension of time being granted by the European Commission in relation to the drawdown of the grant. The details were forwarded to the EU Commission to facilitate its consideration of the case for extension of the schedule for the project within the various deadlines.
I am now clarifying certain aspects of their response with the Commission. I expect these discussions to be concluded in the very near future and will then confirm the position to the developers.
For the past year and a half all I have been concerned about is that at the end of the day when all the complications and problems have been resolved the EU funding will still be available. Is the Minister still confident that the moneys allocated by the Commission will be forthcoming once the technical and appeal problems are resolved?
I am very conscious of the funding arrangements and the matter is ongoing with the EU. We are in continuous—
The Minister does not sound half as confident as he did 12 months ago.
I am quite confident regarding the funding of £25 million which exists. As the Deputy is aware, the matter is before the plan ning authorities and there is very little I can do in that area.
Question No. 38 asked the Minister if he had discussions recently with EU officials regarding funding. He stated that the funding is available, but for how long will it be available? Will the Minister agree that not one of the recently appointed Commissioners has tourism as part of his or her portfolio? It was a tremendous loss to the country—
The Deputy should ask a question.
Will the Minister agree that the fact that tourism is not mentioned in this context is a tremendous loss, and that it would have been an ideal portfolio for the Irish Commissioner? I also ask the Minister to say whether he has recently met the EU officials and for how long the funding will be available.
We are in constant contact with the EU officials, most recently last week. Officials are continuing to make contact with us. I may be required to go to Brussels shortly and this will be one of the issues I will be raising. The EU is fully au fait with all the problems, including those concerning planning. Eight objections have been lodged which have to be overcome, the hearings on which will not be heard until next March or April. The EU has been quite fair in all aspects of this matter to date.
Is it true that the future of the conference centre is dependent on other related projects and that if some of these elements in the overall project fall, the proposal to build the conference centre will also fall? With hindsight will the Minister agree that it may have been a bit foolish for him to move from a stand alone project to one which is very much dependent on other elements in the overall development of that area of Dublin city?
We all want this conference centre project to continue. Many of the Dublin hoteliers depend on the national conference centre proceeding. They have built their future on it, so it is vital to Dublin and to the national economy. While the matter is complex, the developers have signed the contractual agreement with Bord Fáilte which states they will proceed in accordance with the terms of that contract. That is a major step forward. There are always problems with a major development but the developers have signed the document. We should look at the positive steps made. I never regret that we took on this project. It was off the rails for a while but that was no one's fault. It is a major project which has been bedevilled by problems. We have learned by past mistakes and I hope we can overcome them.
We are all aware how important this is to the country. Is there a plan B? What will happen if the difficulties are not sorted out? Will there be any implications or penalty clauses if we cannot find a site? I understand it must be in Dublin and cannot be in the regions. If it does not work out, what happens to the money? Are there any penalty clauses?
As I stated we are conscious that we would not lose the £26 million. Consequently, we are covering all aspects of this. That is why we are in constant contact with the EU to obtain extensions to build the conference centre. It is of paramount importance not to lose that EU funding and, if there were any danger of that happening at some stage, that we would have it diverted in time to infrastructure or some other area. We still have that relationship with the EU and it is aware of the situation. The matter is before An Bord Pleanála because there are objections to it. It is outside my remit at present but the EU is taking it into consideration. A contract has been signed between the developers and Bord Fáilte which has been accepted by the EU, but that is pending the decision on the planning permission. What we would not want to happen is to lose the conference centre.
Is there a plan B?
No, there is no plan B at this stage.
Could the Minister elaborate on the agreement signed by the developer? Following on Deputy Moynihan-Cronin's question, could a scenario arise where the State would be liable for large costs if the development did not proceed? Are there penalty clauses for the State or Bord Fáilte, which is the State under another name? What is the position?
I am crossing every "t" and dotting every "i" with regard to that aspect. The State could be held liable if it were not to proceed in an organised fashion. We could be held liable by the developers if we were to do anything wrong which would pre-empt this conference centre. We are also conscious that other people who were not entertained this time or who were unsuccessful on this occasion could also take an action against the State. I am conscious of all those aspects so the Attorney General is involved at all times and we will continue to take his advice. While we could be held liable, we are covering ourselves.
When did the appeal go to An Bord Pleanála? How long is it with the board?
About six weeks ago.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.