Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
1. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to ensure the former Houses of Parliament on College Green, Dublin 2, are continually available for arts and cultural events; if he has assessed the viability of these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38599/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I have outlined to the House on previous occasions, I have had engagement with Bank of Ireland about the possibility of making the former Houses of Parliament on College Green available for cultural usage. The building is an international landmark, a significant protected structure and has locational importance within the City of Dublin. It has a national resonance too.
As the Deputy knows, it is my view that the shared potential of the Bank of Ireland building for specific cultural uses would present a key opportunity, both nationally and in the public realm of Dublin city, to create, with sufficient vision, a central cultural, civic and tourism hub of strategic importance and scale.
As I have said, engagement with the bank on this matter is ongoing, but we cannot set aside the fact that the building remains in the ownership of the bank and is the largest and busiest of all its branches. As such, the proposal to make the building available exclusively as a cultural venue would require the relocation of these services and, therefore, would have significant financial and strategic implications for the bank. In the present fiscal climate, it would be impossible for my Department to finance the purchase cost and required development and running costs to provide for the conversion of the whole building to a cultural venue. Ireland’s rich culture and heritage remains a major driver of inward investment and tourism and I will, therefore, continue my dialogue with Bank of Ireland in the context of exploring all available options.
I thank the Minister for his response. It is good to be back and able to engage on these matters. I commend the Minister for what he has done to date in highlighting the importance of the College Green building and its historical, architectural and cultural significance. He has compared the area to Tiananmen Square. The idea that we could develop a plaza-like facility for the public and tourists at that location is highly commendable. However, the Minister appears to be backing off a little from that commitment. He is personally strong on it, but I am not convinced that the potential for achieving the objective is as strong as it appeared previously. I am particularly concerned that the CEO of Bank of Ireland, Mr. Richie Boucher, when speaking before the Oireachtas committee only last September, said, "We are not aware of any such request from Government", when he was asked by a Government backbencher about the position on the College Green building. Many very important issues must be considered regarding the Government's engagement with Mr. Boucher and Bank of Ireland, but this is an important issue, too, and we would expect him to know about it.
I have had a number of meetings with Mr. Boucher. There have been a number of engagements and written correspondence, which is available through a freedom of information request. There has been serious dialogue and discussion which will continue.
I have no difficulty in accepting the Minister's assertions, but clearly this is not a priority for Mr. Boucher. If he forgot in September that he had had engagements with the Minister, he is not tuned into the importance of this project. I suggest the Minister needs to revert to Mr. Boucher and get him to correspond with the finance committee and tell it there has been contact between the Minister and Bank of Ireland and that this is a priority for him, and inject a little enthusiasm into his efforts in this regard.
I hope I made a better or more significant impression on Mr. Boucher on those occasions, but that dialogue will continue between Bank of Ireland and my Department, and between me and Mr. Boucher into the future.
