The Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, is likely to recommend within weeks that the Cabinet backs plans to build a National Conference Centre, it has emerged, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Review Group, set up by the Minister late last year, is expected to support strongly the construction of a centre when it produces an interim report later this week. Headed by the former chief executive of Forfás, Mr John Travers, the review group was ordered last December to identify the key targets for the tourist industry.
The Minister met on Tuesday with a delegation from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, including the chamber's president, Mr Clive Brownlee, its director of policy, Mr Declan Martin and chief executive, Ms Gina Quinn. The Minister, according to sources, has been persuaded that the centre must be built in Dublin's inner-city, since conference delegates prefer travelling to national capitals.
The Department has accepted the thrust of a series of reports backing the development of a conference centre to capture a share of an increasingly lucrative element of global tourism.
A consultancy report commissioned by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and already on the Minister's desk warns that the lack of a conference centre is "a glaring gap".
A centre could reap €50 million a year in extra tourist revenue, create 3,000 jobs and generate €140 million for the Exchequer in extra taxes. "The economic benefits more than justify a substantial once-off State capital investment", the report says. "By attracting higher-yield tourism, the centre will support the recent investment in hotels in Dublin and will build on the status of the growing presence of international hotel brands in the city.
"Dublin is a ready-made international conference destination, apart from the gaping hole of a modern, dedicated conference venue," the Chamber of Commerce report declared.
Nearly 900 major international organisations, who hold annual meetings around Europe, have not held a gathering in Ireland since 1990, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.
Bord Fáilte has already identified 26 major international bodies who do not come to Ireland currently because of the lack of proper facilities, the Chamber of Commerce complained.
Quoting from research carried out by economist Mr Peter Bacon, the Chamber of Commerce report said the centre would attract 18,450 high-paying visitors and fill 62,000 hotel bed nights.
In addition, the peak of the conference season would help to extend the tourist season in Dublin since most gatherings take place in May, June and September, rather than the traditional high points of July and August.
Delegates spend 100,000 days a year attending conferences at the new Edinburgh centre, but they also spend a further 30,000 days visiting other parts of Scotland.
Furthermore, the business is growing rapidly. The number of delegates attending individual conferences increased by 50 per cent between 1990 and 1998, and the figure has grown by a further 15 per cent since then.
If backed by the Government, the conference centre would play a vital role in the development of Spencer Dock, the dockland property owned by Treasury Holdings.