John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

The detailed tender documentation for the procurement of a national conference centre in the Dublin area was approved by the NCC steering group on 7 December 2004 and was subsequently issued by the Office of Public Works to each of the three previously short-listed consortia on 10 December 2004.

As I indicated to the House on a number of occasions, the preparation of this documentation has been demanding and time-consuming, with details requiring careful scrutiny and consideration. Accordingly, I was very pleased when the documentation was completed, allowing the next stage of the procurement process to get under way.

The project is being managed by the Office of Public Works under the direction of a steering group chaired by my Department and is being conducted with full regard to, and in accordance with, EU and national procurement rules and regulations, including the Department of Finance's interim guidelines for the provision of infrastructure and capital investments through public private partnerships. While it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the detail of the procurement process under way, I am informed that the NCC project team, headed by the Office of Public Works, is currently engaged in a process of consultation with the tenderers, intended, inter alia, to enable the OPW to provide clarification to and, where appropriate, to take account of issues raised by, tenderers, thereby helping to ensure the quality and robustness of the tenders to be submitted.

Allowing sufficient time for engagement with the tenderers, it is hoped that a provisional preferred tenderer will be selected by mid-year, with the award of the contract, subject to Government approval, following later.

The provision of a national conference centre is a necessary precursor to expanding a business tourism sector currently worth €250 million a year to the country. As such, it remains my personal priority, and that of the Government, to have this project brought to a conclusion at the earliest possible date.

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