SIPTU unveils its towering ambition
€60m HQ planned as jobs disappear
THE country's biggest trade union plans to spend €60m building a skyscraper in the heart of Dublin city as thousands of its members lose their jobs.
SIPTU's plan to demolish and rebuild Liberty Hall, Ireland's first skyscraper, was revealed at the union's annual conference in Tralee, Co Kerry, yesterday.
SIPTU said the project would be financed from savings, rental income and by selling properties it owns in the capital.
It hopes to build a 20-storey skyscraper, with a glass lift at the side and a panoramic 'sky deck' viewing platform.
It would stand 84 metres tall -- 25 metres taller than the existing building -- and offer unparalleled views across the city.
SIPTU has 200,000 members and is positioning itself to be a much greater force in the workplace over the coming months.
It expects to see a major drop in its membership, by as much as 3pc before the end of the year, but is working to attract members from non-union firms.
But its ambitious proposal for new office space could fall foul of the planners.
Earlier this week, Iarnrod Eireann was refused permission by An Bord Pleanala for a 60-metre office block and train station at Tara Street because of its impact on the river and Custom House.
It was told to reduce the scheme to 49.1 metres in height before re-applying.
SIPTU first mooted the redevelopment of Liberty Hall two years ago, at the height of the boom, and said yesterday up to 200 construction jobs could be created if the plans are approved.
Space
The move is necessary because the old building is run-down and its design does not make best use of the available space, particularly as it has a lift running through the middle of the tower block.
A facelift would have cost €15m, and would still have resulted in minimal extra office space, so, instead, the union opted for the more expensive option of a complete reconstruction.
It will be a hi-tech environmentally-friendly structure with triple-glazed windows, a rainwater harvesting system and a sophisticated "external" skin to prevent it attracting too much heat, which will result in lower running costs.
Sources said the construction bill was likely to be €60m, but the union expects to have paid for the project within 20 years -- through rents and income from an expected 250,000 visitors a year.
A wrecking ball will demolish the old building on Eden Quay, built in 1965, before the opening of the new building in 2014.
Liberty Hall stands on a site that has deep historical significance and is certain to attract objections in the planning process. The proclamation of the Irish Republic was printed in the basement of the site and rebel James Connolly led the Irish Citizen Army to the GPO from the building on Easter Monday 1916.
- Anne Marie Walsh Industry Correspondent
Irish Independent
