Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

This is one of those sagas that highlights the difficulty the Government has in driving any major project to completion. It was in the programme for Government in 2002 to celebrate the centenary of the Abbey Theatre in 2004. In 2006 the Ceann Comhairle, who was then Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, approved the design competition. More than a year later the then Minister, Deputy Brennan, announced that he had selected the design team. Another year later we now hear that we have only reached the stage where the regulations for the design competition are nearing completion. If the design competition regulations have taken this long, how long will the design competition take? How long will the design take? Will this project happen in our lifetime? What timescale does the Minister envisage for the building of the theatre? The crucial issue is that this was designed to be provided by means of a PPP.

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