Vol. 541 No. 2
987 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Education and Science the terms of reference of the interdepartmental committee considering the disposal of the Eastern Regional Health Authority site in Grangegorman, Dublin 7; the number of meetings held; the timescale for issuing findings; if a report will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21823/01]
The terms of reference of the interdepartmental committee considering the disposal of the Eastern Regional Health Authority site in Grangegorman, Dublin 7, are to examine how the Grangegorman site can best be developed to achieve Government policy priorities in meeting education and social service needs and in tackling construction industry capacity constraints. This will be done in a way which takes into account the overall development of Dublin and leverages the strategic location and commercial potential of the site to attract private involvement on a PPP basis, having particular regard to the following: access by Dublin Institute of Technology at the earliest possible date to facilities needed for apprenticeship training, with site occupation as from the academic year 2001-02; provision, on a staged basis over the longer-term, of modern campus facilities needed by Dublin Institute of Technology in the context of Government policy for third level education as a whole; provision in the short-term, as part of the package, of non-acute units needed by the ERHA on part of the campus, but also on other sites in the region, taking account of the investment in kind by the authority; arrangements to afford the local community access to playing field facilities on the campus; integration of the proposed campus development with Luas and other relevant public transport provision; an approach to financing that includes leverage of the site's strategic location and commercial potential to lessen the burden on the Exchequer and avoids circular transfer of funds between Votes.
Membership of the working group includes representatives of the ERHA, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin Corporation, the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science, Environment and Local Government, Public Enterprise, Finance and the Taoiseach. The group first met on 16 May 2001 and has met on four occasions since. I have been informed that the Group should be able to complete its work and submit a report to Government in the near future. The working group report will be made available publicly. The Grangegorman site is of strategic importance in the context of Dublin as a whole. My Department is working with the other Departments and agencies represented on the working group to ensure that its strategic location and potential are unlocked to best meet the Government's objectives in the provision of high quality health and education services.
