Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I want to correct the wording of the matter I have raised. I should have said I wished to raise the abandonment of the digital hub by the developer. Unfortunately, the anchor tenant has left. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter. I do so because the digital hub project was supposed to deliver heavily in the area in which it is located. The project was announced with aplomb amid great expectation and the Taoiseach took a significant interest in it. However, the project is two years behind target, like many others, and the anchor tenant has left, although a replacement is being sought. An attempt was made to use the public private partnership model for this project but it failed and agreement has not been reached between the public and private sectors regarding the delivery of the development.

The project is located on a nine-acre site, of which only two acres have been developed. I am concerned because we have had the debacles of electronic voting, which cost more than €50 million, the Red Cow roundabout, which also cost a significant sum, and the port tunnel, which can only accommodate small trucks. I do not want a scenario to develop whereby the digital hub, another flagship project, runs into trouble because expectations are not being realised and targets are not being met. The original plan was not workable or was badly thought out, or it is not meeting expectations for one reason or another.

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources for coming in to reply to the debate. I ask that an urgent reassessment of the project be undertaken with a view to reassuring the local community and the tenants on site of the future of the project and ensuring all delays are short-circuited. If that is not done as a matter of urgency, the danger is public confidence in the project will erode and therein lies another potentially sad tale.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I am not aware of any search for or abandonment of a search for an anchor tenant in the digital hub. The digital hub project, managed by the independent Digital Hub Development Agency, continues to be successful in attracting digital industry tenants and operates a number of community, educational and promotional initiatives. The agency has been successful in expanding the cluster, with almost 50 companies employing more than 400 employees in the hub.

The Deputy may be referring to the tendering process for a suitable developer for the digital hub's regeneration role. While it is unfortunate that there was not a successful outcome to the developer competition, we have an opportunity to move on and deliver the digital hub project in a way that will give the stakeholders greater control over the project than the competition allowed. The Minister is in discussions with the agency to deliver the property development project in a timely manner. When completed, the project will deliver 500,000 sq. ft. of enterprise, learning and educational, residential and retail space.

While the larger hub site is being developed, the agency is space constrained, given the high number of tenants. Parts of the former Media Lab Europe building will be utilised by the hub on a temporary basis. On the issue of the closure of MLE, the basic premises underlying the Government commitment to research into the digital media sector remain. Research in the field of digital media is premised on a number of high level objectives, inter alia, establishing a scientific and technological leadership for Ireland, stimulating increased research and development investment in Ireland, attracting high quality inward investment and human capital, supporting enterprise development in Ireland, supporting high quality human capital formation in Ireland, collaborating with Irish institutions and development agencies and providing a forum for international exchange and discussion.

Consultation with regard to the establishment of a new research laboratory, the National Digital Research Centre, was recently concluded. It is proposed that the NDRC will consider some similar research to MLE but that there will be greater focus on sustainable research and more directive research in a new business model. The Minister will seek improved links to Irish universities and improved corporate governance. The NDRC will also be expected to develop more significant linkages with the digital media cluster emerging in the hub.

The consultation found a high level of support for the proposal to continue public investment in the digital media sector in Ireland with the establishment of the NDRC and there is likely to be a satisfactory response to the recent competitive call for proposals. The Minister is absolutely convinced the digital hub will continue to expand and develop in the years ahead.