It is now 15 years since a national conference centre was first proposed for Dublin and 10 years since an attempt to build one through a public/private partnership arrangement ended in failure.
Five years ago, plans for a centre were again abandoned when An Bord Pleanála rejected a scheme involving associated, high-rise developments. Now, Minister for Tourism John O'Donoghue, has invited tenders for a 2,000-seat centre by next Friday.
It is an appalling record of official procrastination, penny-pinching and incompetence. Had a centre been built when originally planned, it would have already paid for itself and created many new jobs in the hospitality sector. The Government estimates a centre can generate between €25m and €50m in extra revenue a year and increase the number of high-income visitors by up to 30,000. Nevertheless, it is still not clear where the centre will be built or even the year of its completion.
Nobody is happy. The three companies short-listed for the project have been frustrated by delays caused by an extremely complex public-private partnership model operated by the Department of Finance. The tourism and hotels sector, conscious of the continuing loss of lucrative business to foreign competitors, are seriously annoyed. The Minister for Tourism has criticised the "tortuous" process involved. And the president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Áine Maria Mizzoni, told an Oireachtas committee her members were dismayed and mystified by the delays.
The Government has undertaken to lease back the facility, once built, and the companies concerned have identified Spencer Dock, Alexander Dock and Carrickmines as their preferred locations. A deadline has been imposed for the receipt of tenders, but a final Government decision in the matter is not expected until late in the summer. Such a dilatory approach would suggest that the 2007 completion date, set down in the original tendering documents of 2003, is unlikely to be met.
The history of this project raises serious questions about both the efficacy and value-for-money of public/private partnerships. An assessment of a primary school scheme by the Comptroller and Auditor General found it would have been about 10 per cent cheaper under traditional mechanisms.
And while Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has recently moved to streamline the regulations for such projects, they have consistently failed to live up to expectations. The construction of a national conference centre has been delayed for far too long. And the Government is largely to blame. Decisions are urgently required.