Anyone would be cautious about concluding definitively that the new Abbey Theatre will be in Dublin's Docklands, given the chequered history of the search for a new building.
But it looks closer to reality than it has in the past, following John O'Donoghue's remarks in the Dáil yesterday.
The issues to be resolved are believed to be minor, and the site is reportedly a perfect size, with a footprint of 4,700 sq m. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has bent over backwards in recent years to bring some badly needed artistic life into the area. The positioning of a major cultural institution, in what is likely to be a landmark piece of architecture, would fit the bill nicely.
The George's Dock site is roughly where the glorious cabaret-style Spiegeltent was pitched during the Fringe festival last autumn, and indeed where the floating tent is pitched for Footsbarn Theatre's show Perchance to Dream, which opened last night.
It is at the start of the IFSC, just in off the quays, overlooking water, which on the face of it is more than promising in terms of physical situation. Yes, the docklands is a bit off the beaten track, and this may have affected the lack of centrality of the Spiegeltent's location last year.
But on the plus side it is on the edge of both the centre city and the docklands, accessible to public transport, and only a bit more than around the corner from the present Abbey.
And a permanent, large and beautiful building, with theatres, and whatever other public areas might be included in a national theatre building would be a draw in itself. It is believed the DDDA approached the State to offer the the site.
Abbey chairwoman Eithne Healy's statement last night simply said: "I am delighted that the Minister is committed to securing a new home for the theatre. We look forward to the decision of the Cabinet."
After all the past disappointments caution is understandable. Before taking a submission to the Cabinet some details must be ironed out between the Office of Public Works and the DDDA, and it is believed Ms Healy and the new director, Fiach MacConghail, will meet department officials to revisit the specification for the theatre, which is some years old and may need updating.
It's unknown whether these details can be completed before the Dáil session ends, or whether it will drag on into September. But if it progresses it is likely there would be an international architectural competition to select a design for the new theatre. The Minister referred yesterday to how this imaginative generation of young people had no landmark building reflecting that imagination. A new Abbey might do that.
If the Abbey does indeed end up at George's Dock, it will have been a long journey to get there, after various spectres have risen and fallen: the old Carlton cinema on O'Connell Street, Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square - and further back a different docklands site, south of the river.
But aside from its new home, the theatre has more immediate issues to deal with - principally its ability to handle its own affairs. The questions of how the theatre is managed, its artistic policy, and its governance challenge the theatre enormously.
It has to sort out its various messes - the most immediate being the accounting black hole of nearly €1 million which appeared last month - before it can even begin to think about getting a new house.
