Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I know he has been quite active on the issue of the College Green site. We need to institute a process to examine and encourage the potential of a building swap between the Bank of Ireland on College Green and the Central Bank offices on Dame Street. I, along with many Dubliners, believe College Green has the potential to become one of our finest public spaces. It was previously known as Hoggen Green and is thought to be the site of the burial grounds of the Viking kings of Dublin. We all remember the US presidential addresses by both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at the green, which highlight the potential of how this space can be used. College Green is flanked by our oldest university and its classic buildings run into Dame Street. The building now occupied by Bank of Ireland was our first Parliament. It was the world's first purpose-built two-chamber parliament, the foundation stone for which was laid in 1729. The Irish Parliament sat there until the Act of Union. After that, it served as a military garrison and an art gallery before eventually being bought by the Bank of Ireland.

It is time this building was returned to public use as a social dividend from the bank bailout. It is a known visitor spot for thousands of tourists from both home and abroad. The Bank of Ireland uses it as its principal bank branch. While negotiations on a transfer of ownership in the past were not successful, we do have a 15% stake in the bank now, which means we have a little bit of muscle in pursuing this swap. The decision by the Central Bank to move to the Docklands will allow the swap to happen. Sam Stephenson's modernistic building design on Dame Street would probably be much more suited to Bank of Ireland while the old parliament building is returned to State use. I hope the stakeholders - the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Dublin City Council and the Central Bank - will ensure this transfer occurs.

The former parliament is an ideal building to house the central Dublin lending library currently located in the Ilac Centre. It would provide an excellent performance space for theatre and musical groups, as well as having the potential to house a future regional assembly for Dublin following local government reform. It is pointless to use the building as a bank when it was designed as a parliament. Will the Minister redouble his efforts to consider the potential of this transfer? This landmark site has also held outdoor concerts on New Year's Eve, which shows the fantastic potential this area has. Transferring the building to public use would be seen by the citizens of Dublin as a social dividend from the bank bailout and would enhance the city from an environmental and tourism perspective.

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