Docks centre is `critical for tourism'

The National Convention Centre, due to be built in Spencer Dock in the Dublin docklands, is the "most critical piece of infrastructure needed for the further development of the tourism industry", Dublin Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.Chamber President, Mr Jim Ruane, strongly welcomed the decision to proceed with the centre. Dublin, he said, is the only EU capital without a convention centre, and its absence has meant lost business over the years."Its location in the Dublin docklands will also act as a considerable boost to the regeneration of that area," Mr Ruane said. "The proposal also includes the possibility of creating a new central railway station with a link to the airport - both projects considered essential for the city, and contained in the chamber's transport plan."A spokesman for the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, said conference centres, like the one proposed, attract high net worth visitors and year-round business. The availability of a centre capable of hosting conferences with up to 3,000 delegates, was one of the missing factors in the city's "tourism armoury".Conference business is a booming one and Ireland is currently avery fashionable location, not least because of the ongoing peace process, the spokesman said. Conference delegates tend to bring spouses and the itineraries for such events usually include designated times for shopping.Dr McDaid was also particularly pleased that the location of the conference centre and the associated hotels and restaurants, will provide service industry jobs which will provide a boost to employment in the immediate area, the spokesman said.Mr Dermod Dwyer, managing partner with Tourism and Leisure Partners and project manager for the Spencer Dock development, said the master plan envisages a transport "hub" connecting the city's public transport networks.A rail station on the site, which is owned by CIE and already linked to the rail network, would connect with the mainline rail network and the proposed rail link to the airport. It would connect with the DART system, through Connolly Station, and also with the bus service being proposed for the dockland development."This is going to be a living breathing community and so it will need its own transport system," he said.