Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2013
11. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the provision of a diaspora centre as an iconic tourism attraction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46982/13]
View answer47. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the provision of a diaspora centre; and if his attention has been drawn to Dún Laoghaire Harbour Board's plans in this area. [46966/13]
View answer237. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the provision of a Diaspora centre as an iconic tourism attraction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47468/13]
View answerThis question asks the Minister for his views on the development of an iconic diaspora centre as a tourism attraction in Limerick, which I represent. The Limerick local authorities and the Shannon Airport Authority are working on a joint bid. I would like the Minister to give an indication of the timeframe envisaged. It is my understanding that expressions of interest will be sought before the end of the year and a decision made by the middle of next year. I await the Minister's response.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 47 and 237 together.
The Government’s infrastructure and capital investment framework 2012-16, published in November 2011, includes a commitment to support for a diaspora centre or museum, should a suitable project and partner be available. Accordingly, I asked Fáilte Ireland to carry out a scoping study of the development of such a centre and the most suitable means by which it could be financed, developed and managed. I received the outcome of the scoping study earlier this year. Following consideration of the appropriate next steps, I have decided that expressions of interest should be sought to establish if there is a suitable project and partner available to develop a diaspora centre.
My Department and Fáilte Ireland will be making the necessary arrangements for a call for expressions of interest along these lines in the near future. Aside from detailing their proposals, applicants will be asked to present a funding model to build and operate and to indicate the level of State support they would need. In this context, I am aware of a number of prospective projects across the country for which proposals are at various stages of development. A number of interested parties, including Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company and the Limerick diaspora group, were consulted as part of the scoping study. It will, of course, be a matter for those advancing the proposals to consider whether and on what basis they might respond to the forthcoming request for expressions of interest.
On the question of the timeframe envisaged, I do not have it exactly tied down, but the Deputy's estimation is in the right ball park.
I thank the Minister for his response. It is welcome that he expects the Department to seek expressions of interest by the end of the year and that a decision will be made on the location of a national diaspora centre by the middle of next year. Limerick will be the city of culture in 2014 and is ideally located, with Shannon Airport on its doorstep. The fact that a formidable joint bid is being made by the Limerick local authorities and the Shannon Airport Authority augurs well. Furthermore, this is about bringing tourists to Ireland. The fact that Limerick will be the city of culture in 2014 makes this an ideal legacy project for the city and would showcase it for Ireland Inc. What does the Minister envisage will be required of those submitting expressions of interest? How will the Department's specific requirements be relayed to the various bodies involved?
The scoping study is very interesting and shows a broad range of options. It envisages a building of 6,000 sq. m, half of which would be visitor space, and visitor numbers of 300,000 per year. It estimates that the cost of delivering the facility could be between €20 million and €30 million for a new building, €13 million to €25 million for an existing building or €5 million to €15 million for an existing institution. Needless to say, that is not the kind of capital I have available in my budget; therefore, we will be asking interested parties to state how they would raise most, if not all, of this money. In terms of location, the scoping study advises that the centre should be near a large population centre, have a high concentration of tourists and good transport connections. It should also ideally but not necessarily be near the sea, given our history of emigration. There should be supporting attractions nearby such as cafés, bars, shops and other facilities.
I thank the Minister for answering my question. I listened closely to what he said about good transport links and so forth and assure him that Dún Laoghaoire ticks all of the boxes on his list. He made reference to funding and various other aspects of the project, but he has not made any reference to the historical context of such a centre. Dún Laoghaoire would be the strongest contender in that context, given that millions of Irish people left from Carlisle Pier for England, America, Australia and many other parts of the world. Will the historical context be taken into consideration?
Yes, it will be. That is one of the five points to which I referred. Point No. 4 refers to the sea, given the history of emigration from Ireland by sea, although these days people emigrate by air. There are a lot of very good ideas and I do not have a favourite. The committee established to make a decision will have to do so independently. A key aspect will be the capacity of any proposed project to bring capital to the table and also the capacity to be able to operate on a break-even basis within a few years. Most big attractions can do so with some help in the first few years.
Does the Minister envisage that he will be appointing consultants to oversee this project? Has he an idea of the number of expressions of interest he will be looking for from various groups? The Limerick diaspora group, of which I am a member, has met with the Minister and his officials. Will he give us a further flavour of the process and how it will work?
I am reluctant to answer that question because I do not know the answer yet. We did appoint consultants to do a scoping study. However, I do not want to appoint too many consultants to do everything. There have been a dozen different proposals, some very advanced and considered, others little more than just a bright idea in PowerPoint. The next step is to call for expressions of interest, detail what we are looking for from the different groups and, subsequently, make a decision.
As Deputy McLellan is not present, Questions Nos. 12 and 13 will be taken with Written Answers.
