John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Since its establishment in 1997, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which operates as a commercial entity and is funded entirely from its own resources, has engaged in the purchase, management, development and sale of lands in the Docklands area.

The authority, through its involvement in a joint venture company, Becbay Ltd., made a significant investment in the acquisition of the old Irish Glass Bottle Company, IGBC, site in Poolbeg.

I understand the authority took the view that the IGBC site was very significant in terms of the regeneration of the Poolbeg peninsula and that the manner in which this site was developed would set the tone for remaining development in the area. Accordingly, it decided to secure an interest in the site to achieve, in full measure, its overall objectives for the Poolbeg area as set out in its master plan.

This is regarded by the authority as a long-term investment. It is anticipated that the development of the Poolbeg peninsula will take place over five to ten years. Previously, the authority has been very successfully involved in extensions to the Irish Financial Services Centre area and the redevelopment of the former Bord Gáis site at Grand Canal harbour.

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