Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if capital projects under his remit will commence in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2314/09]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if capital projects under his remit will commence in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2755/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 212 together.

A number of landmark capital projects under the aegis of the Department are currently at various stages of development, from the pre-contract stage to the phase of nearing completion.

National Theatre

The Abbey Theatre is to be redeveloped by way of a public-private partnership on a site at George's Dock. This site was chosen following an extensive search exercise conducted by the Office of Public Works that involved the examination of a number of options. This PPP project is now being progressed on the basis solely of the Georges Dock site. The project is complex and there are a myriad of technical, procedural and legal factors to address in making progress on it, and these continue to be progressed. The project remains a priority for the Department and I will make an announcement on the design competition very soon.

National Concert Hall

The redevelopment of the National Concert Hall, also by means of a public-private partnership agreement, is currently in the competitive dialogue phase of the procurement process. This phase involves engagement with three shortlisted applicant consortia, at the end of which they will be invited to submit tenders. The successful tenderer will be selected by September 2009 and, subject to planning permission, I will award the contract around the end of 2009. Upon completion, the project will deliver, among other facilities, a main auditorium with a seating capacity for more than 2,000 patrons. The project is progressing to schedule, with construction expected to commence in 2010.

National Conference Centre

The development of the National Conference Centre is proceeding apace according to the public-private partnership agreement already in place. The Centre will deliver significant numbers of international conference visitors to Ireland and will generate substantial foreign revenue earnings. It is, therefore, all the more important that this project be completed. I am pleased to note that the Centre remains on schedule to open on 1 September 2010.

Lansdowne Road Stadium

The Lansdowne Road Stadium project will deliver a new, state-of-the-art 50,000-seat capacity stadium to meet the international rugby and soccer fixture requirements of the IRFU and the FAI. Again, I am pleased to report that following the commencement of building work in May 2007, the project remains well on schedule for completion by mid 2010.

National Sports Campus

With respect to the establishment of a National Sports Campus at Abbotstown, the difficult economic constraints has meant that no funding has been provided to date to advance the Phase I development in 2009. I am having discussions with the Minister for Finance to see what funding might be available to move forward with Phase I on a phased basis. I am also having discussions with the NSCDA in this regard. In the short term, construction work has commenced on providing a headquarters for the Irish Institute of Sport, involving the refurbishment of an existing building, to be ready for occupancy this year.

As can be seen, progress is continuing apace on a number of major capital projects, and I hope to report positively on developments to this House during the remainder of this year and beyond. In addition my Department will continue to make payments to grantees who have been awarded grants under the Sports Capital, Local Authority Swimming Pool and ACCESS programmes.