76 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the reason for the delay in advertising the international design competition for the proposed new Abbey Theatre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11747/07]

88 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position in regard to the proposed move of the Abbey Theatre to a new building at George’s Dock; his views on whether it is justifiable for the Abbey to spend almost €750,000 revamping its auditorium at a time when the move to George’s Dock is being finalised; if he has had discussions with the Abbey regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11737/07]

191 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position in regard to the proposed move of the Abbey Theatre to a new building at George’s Dock; his views on whether it is justifiable for the Abbey to spend almost €750,000 revamping its auditorium at a time when the move to George’s Dock is being finalised; if he has had discussions with the Abbey regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11961/07]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 88 and 191 together.

As the Deputy is aware the Government decided to proceed with the redevelopment of the Abbey Theatre at George's Dock on a Build, Finance, and Maintain (BFM) basis. At the same time, the Government agreed to hold an international design competition for the new Abbey Theatre.

The OPW is currently finalising the preparation for the design competition. A competition of this nature is a very complex one and takes time to perfect. The technical documentation must be very carefully specified and a design jury set up to select the winning design. I am sure the Deputy would agree, given the significance of this project, that time and care is vital in planning it. The Government is committed to providing a National Theatre of world class and this is not a process which can be rushed. Once the winning design has been selected the building will be procured on a BFM Public Private Partnership basis. It is expected that the planning and procurement arrangements will take a further 12 months to finalise and the building will take 18 months to complete.

Given the timescale involved in procuring a new National Theatre, the National Theatre is expected to remain in situ for some time yet. Much of the equipment at the Abbey has become obsolete and age worn. The works being carried out are essential from a customer service and a health and safety perspective and I am satisfied that the works are necessary. The Abbey Theatre Board is independent of me in decisions of this nature. I understand in any event that the seating installation is modular; it can be reassembled elsewhere, if necessary. Just because the Abbey is due to be relocated is not sufficient reason to allow our National Theatre to fall into disrepair.