Sir, - I was dismayed to read (The Irish Times, December 6th) that the proposed Performing Arts Academy is to be located in Glasnevin, Dublin. The National Concert Hall building, off St Stephen's Green, is widely accepted as the ideal location for such an academy. The 15,000 square metres of space in this building, currently occupied by UCD, is perfectly suited to the teaching of music and the arts. Further, there are obvious complementary benefits to locating the Concert Hall and the academy on one site in the centre of Dublin.
The decision not to locate in the Concert Hall building will also have profound implications for engineering education at a time of unprecedented need. The Government offices development at Merrion Street involved "temporarily" splitting the Engineering faculty at UCD between Belfield and the Concert Hall building at Earlsfort Terrace. Those parts of Engineering that remain at Earlsfort Terrace are in facilities totally unsuited to their current need. Engineering research and education requires purpose-built high-technology buildings. However, a major part of the Engineering laboratories are currently located in a building designed as a real tennis court.
Recent investment in the Earlsfort Terrace building has addressed some of the problems of disabled access and limited facilities. However, ongoing expansion of the Engineering and Medical departments based at Earlsfort Terrace puts ever-increasing pressure on an overcrowded building unsuited to its current use.
The £35 million that will be spent on new buildings for the Performing Arts Academy in Glasnevin could have been used to move all of the UCD departments from Earlsfort Terrace to Belfield and to house the academy in the vacated space. The Government is to be congratulated for investing in the performing arts. However, it has lost a golden opportunity to greatly strengthen education and research at a time of great need and to further develop the performing arts in the heart of the city. - Yours, etc.,
Eugene O'Brien, Professor of Civil Engineering, NUI, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.