THE Government is expected to decide today that the RDS in Ballsbridge is the best location for a national conference centre, finally dashing hopes that it might have been located in the heart of Dublin.
According to reliable sources, both Bord Failte and the Department of Tourism and Trade have strongly recommended Ballsbridge rather than a rival bid from the promoters of a scheme to convert and extend the former Carlton Cinema in O'Connell Street.
The 2,000 seat conference centre qualifies for up to £23 million in EU funding under the current National Development Plan. However, although the RDS was first identified as the likely location more than two years ago, it has yet to go through the planning process.
One well placed source said the society put forward a "very persuasive" financial package which should ensure that the centre will not require an annual operating subsidy one of the main requirements laid down by the Minister for Tourism and Trade.
The move to decide on the RDS has come as a surprise to the promoters of the O'Connell Street alternative, who were informed only last Thursday in a letter from Mr Kenny that he had ordered an investigation of the procedures used by Bord Failte in dealing with them.
After the Carlton Group had written complaining about "numerous irregularities", the Minister replied that he had asked the board's chairman, Mr Padraig O hUiginn, to investigate. "I will be in contact with you again as soon as I have a report," he wrote.
It is believed that Mr O hUiginn's inquiry has already concluded, exonerating Bord Failte. However, 18 separate questions on the matter have been tabled by Mr David Andrews, the Fianna Fail spokesman on tourism and trade, for written answer in the Dail tomorrow.
With backing from the Dublin City Centre Business Association, the Carlton Group which has an uncontested planning permission for the O'Connell Street site may now appeal to the EU Commission, on the grounds that its scheme did not receive a fair hearing.
Such an appeal would be the latest twist in a long running saga which, for a time, became enmeshed with the issue of whether a licence would be granted for casino gambling. This was seen as a means of financing the anticipated annual losses of a convention centre.
Last autumn, Mr Kenny's Department announced a competition among developers to provide a national conference centre which would not have to rely on a casino to fund it. But this contest was aborted in January when the Minister declared that the RDS was the preferred location".
