Dublin City Council will spend a record €1.8 billion next year, of which more than half will be on key investment projects designed to improve the quality of life in the city.
The funding is €400 million more than the Estimates for the Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday.
It will be financed from a 3.8 per cent increase in commercial rates, Government grants and increases in revenue from goods and services, including a 5 per cent increase in domestic refuse charges.
Among the projects to come on stream next year are three new sports and leisure centres, a new Lab Arts Centre on Foley Street, a new dance centre at Liberty Corner, and a €13 million extension to the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery.
Major projects which will come to fruition include the Dublin Port Tunnel, the O'Connell Street rejuvenation and large-scale increases in social and affordable housing.
The council expects that over the coming years 45 per cent of all new houses provided in Dublin will be social and affordable homes. These include major rebuilding schemes at Ballymun, Fatima Mansions, St Joseph's House, St Michael's Estate and others.
The spending, which is divided into capital investment of €1 billion on key infrastructure and €780 million on current services, is to be outlined to members of the council on Monday.
City manager John Fitzgerald will tell councillors that the time is right to encourage people to come into the city for cultural and recreational reasons, and to improve the quality of life for those who live and work in the capital.
Referring to "investment" as opposed to spending, he will announce the creation of a new cultural quarter based around the Municipal Gallery, the Garden of Remembrance, the Rotunda Gardens and the Gate theatre on Parnell Square.
Mr Fitzgerald will argue that if the city council does not invest in the city now the same opportunities may not come around again for another generation.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Fitzgerald said he never believed the city council should "simply keep the street lights lighting and the grass cut".
A key aspect of his programme for 2006 was to promote recreation aimed at "getting children and young people to achieve success through sport and recreational activities rather than seek it in anti-social behaviour".
He said opening some sports and recreational centres until 10pm would ensure that young people have somewhere to meet friends. A team of 19 sports development officers would encourage people to take part in sports development courses.
The council will also undertake an anti-racism initiative in response to the changing cultural profile of the population.
An "events programme" designed to bring families into the city centre to venues such as the Liffey boardwalk, the O'Connell Street Plaza, Smithfield and Wolfe Tone Square will also be compiled.
New parks coming into operation next year include Coultry Park and Balcurris in Ballymun, while new or improved parks will be provided at Ellenfield Park, Whitehall, Ringsend Park and John Paul II Park, Cabra.
A commission for the design of a new linear park along the Tolka Valley will be launched, and significant work will also be carried out on the Dodder at Donnybrook.
The 5 per cent rise in waste charges will represent an increase of about €11 per household in 2006.
A new recycling facility with a capacity for 100,000 tonnes per annum is expected to be in place before the end of 2006.
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