Jan O'Sullivan
Ceist:92 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the latest position regarding the development of a national conference centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11987/01]
Written Answers - National Conference Centre.
In relation to the proposed National Conference Centre at Spencer Dock, Bord Fáilte has confirmed that, as no major construction work had taken place on the site by January 2001, the grant contract with the developers formally terminated in March 2001. Given that the original research that influenced the concept of such a centre is almost ten years old, Bord Fáilte has now commissioned new research, to be completed in the next two months, on the international conference market and the optimum positioning of Ireland within that market. I await the outcome of this research before bringing recommendations to Government on how best to take forward the objective of a National Conference Centre.