John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 17 together.

On 17 February 2005, I informed the House that detailed tender documentation for the procurement of a national conference centre in Dublin was issued on 10 December 2004 by the Office of Public Works to each of the three previously short-listed consortia. I said also that one of the three candidate consortia had indicated it would not, in all probability, proceed. The candidate in question has now informed the Office of Public Works that it does not intend to submit a tender for the project. Accordingly, the competition for the provision of the centre is proceeding with two tender candidates.

As I informed the House previously, the national conference centre project team, which is headed by the Office of Public Works, is engaged in a process of consultation with the tender candidates. The process is intended, inter alia, to enable the OPW to provide clarification and, where appropriate, take account of issues raised by the candidates to ensure the submission of good quality, robust tenders. Allowing for the provision of sufficient time for engagement with the candidates, it is hoped a provisional preferred tenderer will be selected by mid-year. The contract will be awarded on receipt of Government approval.

The provision of a national conference centre is a necessary precursor to the expansion of the business tourism sector which is worth €250 million a year. While I must accept the grinding complexity and necessarily time-consuming nature of the procurement process, the provision of a national conference centre remains a priority.

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