Dublin Zoo is to receive a further £10 million in funding, the Taoiseach confirmed yesterday.
Mr Ahern, who was officially opening a new section of the Zoo, known as "African Plains", said the extra funding, to be paid over five years, would make the facility one of the finest of its kind in Europe.
The extra facilities would include a new elephant enclosure, a state-of-the-art education centre, and an ibis cliff and wading bird aviary in the old chimpanzee enclosure.
The African Plains covers 13 hectares of forest, lake and grasslands, which were previously part of the grounds of Aras an Uachtarain.
The president of the Zoological Society of Ireland, Mr Sean Cromien, said the extension was a major asset which would help the zoo focus on its twin objectives of education and conservation.
"From the outset, when we sat down with the Office of Public Works to devise a plan to transform Dublin Zoo, our most important guiding principle was to create a centre of excellence where the welfare of the animals would be paramount.
"The plan also had at its very core our commitment to become a centre for conservation and education, both recognised as being key areas for the zoo of the future. I believe I echo the sentiments of the entire council when I say that we believe we have gone a long way towards achieving our objectives." Animals located in the area include giraffes, rhinos, hippopotami, oryx and zebras. Some animals are mixed. The giraffes share a large grassy area with zebras, scimitar-horned onyx, dama gazelle and ostrich. The large lake features a number of islands housing chimpanzees and mangabeys. The new hippopotamus enclosure, with indoor and outdoor pools, adjoins the lake.
An estimated 25,000 people visited the zoo at the weekend, following its reopening after two months because of the foot-and-mouth threat.
