Vol. 562 No. 2
106 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the next stage in the process to provide a new home for the national theatre; the possible commencement date; the expected overall cost of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5725/03]
The Government has agreed that expressions of interest be invited by way of public invitation from the private sector in participating, on the basis of a public private partnership, PPP, in the capital redevelopment of the Abbey Theatre in and-or around the vicinity of the site of the existing theatre.
Expressions of interest from the private sector will now be invited on the basis that any redevelopment requires: a signature development, representative of a national theatre in the 21st century; an appropriate civic setting to form part of the overall urban regeneration represented by the O'Connell Street integrated area plan and north-east inner city plan; the redevelopment must meet the specified accommodation requirements of the theatre in terms of size and configuration; the redevelopment must embrace the Abbey and Peacock theatres and satisfactorily address the current problems of the two theatres; the facilities available to the national theatre must at all times be consistent with the operational needs of the theatre and with the requirement to provide a top-quality experience to audiences.
However, subject to the above, the design may include the provision of additional elements, facilities or functions. It will fall to the relevant private sector developer to assess the feasibility and financial implications of the property acquisition required, planning issues likely to arise etc., and to factor these risks into the final proposal.
The Office of Public Works, in close collaboration with my Department and with the national theatre, will shortly seek tenders for the provision of expert advice on the detailed preparation of this public invitation. At this stage it would be premature to speculate on the likely commencement date and projected overall cost.
I welcome the announcement by the Minister that progress is being made. If this is proposed to be a PPP project how will the Minister reconcile this with the fact that private property will need to be acquired? There is obviously not enough space in the present location to provide a theatre as outlined here. Properties adjacent to the existing building will have to be acquired. Will there be a conflict of interest in the case of a public private partnership? I ask the Minister which aspect of the partnership, public or private, will acquire the property?
The Minister invited expressions of interest for a national stadium and he received 23 responses. Judging by the article in last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Business Post these proposals are now more or less being discarded. In the event of the Minister not obtaining a satisfactory public sector client, has he a contingency plan to provide a much-needed national theatre?
It is important to point out to the Deputy that the existing national theatre has a historic and emotional resonance for many people. It is therefore desirable to proceed with the construction of a new national theatre on the present site. Deputy Deenihan correctly points out that if this is to occur, the present footprint is too small and a larger one will be required. The question of who would acquire those properties will be part of the consideration which the Office of Public Works will give in formulating the invitation. As I indicated, it will take some time to formulate the invitation. If it should not prove possible to acquire the properties adjacent to the current Abbey Theatre, there are alternatives, I imagine, which can be looked at. However, the preferred option is to build on the present site of the theatre and expand the footprint.
In view of the inadequacy of the present theatre and the fact that so many people have expressed their concerns about the standard of the theatre's seating and stage facilities and audience capacity, will the Minister give the House an assurance that all the processes as outlined will be completed in the near future? Will the Minister give an indication of the likely timespan involved? It reminds me of the saga of Stadium Ireland. Procedures and bodies were put in place but at the end of the day we ended up with nothing. I hope this will not be a similar saga. I ask the Minister to state how long he will allow for the preliminary investigations and whether there is a set commencement date. Will the Minister ensure that there is no delay in the project?
I will seek to ensure that there is no delay in the project. It will be necessary in the first instance for the Office of Public Works by way of a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union to seek tenders for the expert advice and detailed preparation of the public invitations. Having regard to the timescales which are laid down in the relevant EU directive, I anticipate that the panel of experts will certainly be in place within a period of four months. I cannot be definitive in relation to the timescales from there on in, for the simple reason that I do not know what those timescales will be. Suffice to say that the Government has given agreement in principle to the replacement of the current Abbey Theatre. As Deputy Deenihan has stated, everybody realises that there is a need for a new national theatre. The Abbey Theatre as it stands is inadequate for the needs of today and to an extent, much of it is now antiquated.
