A new tendering competition for a National Conference Centre is to be held, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid has announced.
The EU has agreed to the new tendering procedure but if the project is not underway by next spring funding will be lost.
As reported in The Irish Times a fortnight ago, the Government has decided to hold the new competition after a complaint from one of the losing consortiums in the last competition.
The competition will be overseen by the independent Product Management Board, which is made up of members of Bord Failte, the Department of Tourism and members of various business associations.
EU Commission officials have said there is no possibility the deadline for completion of the project can be extended. However, the Government believes that if the project is "seriously underway" a short extension beyond the end of 2001 could be agreed.
The EU has agreed to fund the centre by up to 50 per cent if the winner of the competition is a private firm. If the eventual winner is a public body, it will fund the project by up to 75 per cent. The maximum amount of funding available is £25 million.
It is estimated that 1,500 jobs would be created during the building of a conference centre.
Dr McDaid said yesterday that this was the last chance for EU assistance for developers to build a centre. "The EU funding bus is leaving the station and if developers fail to take this opportunity there is unlikely to be another under the current programme.
"In the new millennium Irish tourism will have to be increasingly self-supporting and the conference centre is a key infrastructure project that will significantly add to the sustainability of our tourism industry".
The advertisement of the new tender competition is expected to take place within the next few days.
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce welcomed Dr McDaid's announcement, but asked for "clarification" from the Minister on how the operational costs of the centre will be met. "Typically, large scale conference centres do not operate at a surplus," said a spokesman.
Mr Declan Martin, the Chamber's Economic Director, said a previous suggestion that a casino could pay for the centre, had been dismissed by the Government. "Since then, there has been no clear position on the issue of a casino licence or other funding mechanism to support the conference centre," he added.
