The Taoiseach has endorsed a plan by the Progressive Democrats to move Dublin port north to a location near Balbriggan.
The plan would see port activity move to Breamore north of Balbriggan, Co Dublin, and the current port area would be transformed into what the PDs say will be a "new Manhattan-style" heart for Dublin.
Speaking in Dublin this morning, Tánaiste Michael McDowell said the plan would free up more than 600 acres of valuable real estate for phased redevelopment. The plan includes housing, office accommodation, shops, waterfront promenades and green spaces, Mr McDowell said.
Speaking at a conference in Dublin Castle, "A New Heart for Dublin", Mr McDowell added: "By moving industrial port activity gradually from the already over-stretched Dublin Port to a site north of Balbriggan, this proposal also aims to deliver an increasingly truck-free city.
"I am happy to report that in my discussions with the Taoiseach about the regeneration of Dublin Port and Senator [Tom] Morrissey's visionary plan, he has indicated his support for what we are working to achieve today," Mr McDowell said.
The idea was first mooted by the PDs in December last year when Mr McDowell and Senator Morrissey, the party's transport spokesman, unveiled a discussion document entitled A New Heart for Dublin.
A party spokeswoman told ireland.comtoday that the Taoiseach's support for the project was crucial because it "takes it beyond just a PD issue". A spokesman for the Taoiseach confirmed Mr Ahern was "broadly supportive" of the PD plan for Dublin Port.
She added that the delayed Dublin Port Tunnel - built at a cost of at least €775 million - would form "an integral part of the whole project".
It is understood the tunnel will be needed to take 50,000 residents and workers to and from the area using public transport and park-and-ride facilities. It will also provide a transport link those using cruise liners stopping in Dublin.
It emerged this week that "significant hurdles" in connection with testing of safety systems are preventing the setting of a date for the opening of the tunnel.
Tunnel developers Dublin City Council and the National Roads Authority both said they could no longer stand over assurances that the tunnel would open in November.
