Ahern backs PDs' plans in moving port to north Dublin
Saturday October 21 2006
And he has also thrown his weight behind plans to transform the port into a 'Manhattan-style' develop-ment which would provide homes and offices for up to 50,000 people.
Speaking in Finland, where he was attending a meeting of EU leaders, Mr Ahern said the dockland area around Dublin had become very well developed in the past 20 years.
"We are now in development right down to the Point Depot," he said, adding that construction was continuing on both sides of the river.
He said the work was very much at the heart of the regeneration plan which he launched for Dublin Corporation in 1986 when serving as Lord Mayor.
The Taoiseach added that the dockland regeneration would "take some time" but said people had to ask themselves should progress be stopped when the alternative to moving the port was some 40,000 trucks a day continuing to come through the area. Addressing a conference on the future of Dublin Bay, Tanaiste Michael McDowell revealed the party's "visionary plan" to transform the city centre.
The plan - A New Heart for Dublin - would transform the under-utilised docklands which was a "waste of a beautiful natural location" into a "jewel" among Irish population centres.
Once the port is moved it is planned to redevelop about 660 acres of prime real estate on a phased basis which could house more than 50,000 people. The proposal also includes offices, shops, green spaces, waterfront promenades and a new centre for cruise liner traffic.
"By moving industrial port activity gradually from the already over-stretched Dublin port, to a site north of Balbriggan, this proposal also aims to deliver an increasingly truck-free city," Mr McDowell said.
"I am happy to report that in my discussions with the Taoiseach about the regeneration of Dublin port, he has indicated his support for what we are working to achieve today."
The current proposal stems from a discussion document launched last December by Senator Tom Morrissey and the Tanaiste which proposed moving the port to Bremore, north of the city. The port tunnel will form a vital link for the project to be successful.
Dublin port is facing capacity problems, but has proposed reclaiming 52 acres of land from the sea to create more berthing space. According to Senator Morrissey, the project will take up to 20 years to complete, and would "unbuckle the commuter belt" by providing homes to people who wished to live in the city centre.
But not everyone is supportive of the plan. Yesterday Green Party TD John Gormley said the plan was "unrealistic" as it ignored a number of "crucial factors" including the "total lack" of transport infrastructure and the fact that the Poolbeg Peninsula was prone to flooding.
"There is no doubt that the Poolbeg Peninsula should be properly developed, but the PD proposal represents this Government's typical lack of joined-up thinking," he said.
"It is yet another example of PD kite-flying," the Green Party TD added.
- Paul Melia
