A new €750 million project which will give the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) a permanent home - and help revive a 70-acre site in the north inner city - was formally unveiled yesterday.
The DIT project is intended to act as a catalyst for regeneration of a swathe of north Dublin bordering Grangegorman, Phibsboro, Broadstone and Manor Street.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said "by its presence alone" the DIT complex would help rebuild and redevelop large derelict areas.
About €200 million of the cost will be borne by the Government. Of the remainder, a further €200 million will come from the sale of 25 DIT-owned properties around Dublin. These include well-known landmarks such as the College of Catering on Cathal Brugha Street and the facilities at Kevin Street and Aungier Street.
The Government hopes the balance will come from commercially-generated revenue (€250 million) and from a fundraising drive aimed at rich philanthropists (€52 million).
Mr Ahern said the new Grangegorman Development Agency Bill, published yesterday, was a major advance in bringing the project to completion.
This provides for the establishment of an agency on a statutory basis to oversee lands owned variously by the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Children, the DIT, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Northern Area Health Board.
Under the plans, DIT will become the largest third-level facility in the State with over 23,000 students. It plans to increase the number of its courses by 35 per cent. In all it will cater for 13,500 full-time students, 7,000 part-time students and 3,000 apprentices.
Students will move to the campus in the 2007-2010 period. It is expected that the development will be completed in 2014.
Yesterday, the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, said the development of a single campus would allow the college to "further develop its already extensive curriculum, and to enhance its reputation as a premier education provider".
Mr Dempsey said: "Grangegorman is a unique site, and is of strategic importance to all of Dublin. Because of its importance, the Government has taken the view that the site must be developed in a strategic manner in order to maximise its potential and to protect the interests of residents in the area."
