As the Deputy is aware, the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-1999, included provision for 33 million ECU, £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.
A 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 and culminated, in June 1998, in the selection of the proposal submitted by Spencer Dock International Convention Centre Limited, to go forward for grant-aid to develop the conference centre at a site in Dublin's docklands.