The Wikipedia entry on Grangegorman is a mine of information. It tells all sorts about Grangegorman: how the area was recorded in 1610 as one of only three remote villages in this region, how the annals of history describe it as the Dean’s Orchard and how it transformed from an agricultural hamlet to an urban centre, dominated by penitentiaries and hospitals.

But, it mentions, only in brief, that the area is currently the subject of a major redevelopment plan under the aegis of the Grangegorman Development Agency and that isn’t even half of the story.

I was privileged once again to be in Grangegorman on Monday morning (3 March 2014), having been asked to launch “Joining Up the Dots II” and its sister document “Grangegorman Campus Development Policy Framework”. The first document provides an update of the socio-economic, demographic and employment data that underpins the development of the Grangegorman area and the second gives an updated understanding of the demographics, educational and employment profile of the area.

The launch also gave me an opportunity to see first-hand the significant progress being made on this, the flagship project of the PPP Stimulus Programme.

I toured the site and met with local primary school children and students from DIT who will be among the first 1,000 students who will move in to their new Campus in September of this year.  Interestingly, DIT accounts for almost 10 % of the total higher education sector in Ireland. All DIT activities, currently on 39 separate citywide locations, 22,000 students and 2,000 staff, will ultimately be brought together at a single location, including education  facilities, research, technology transfer, sports, cultural activities, science park and student accommodation.

MPER GG Model 4resize

A significant element of the Grangegorman project is being funded through Public Private Partnership (PPP). In line with the Programme for Government, my Department has been working closely with the Department of Education and Skills and the Grangorman Development Authority to maximise the employment impact of PPPs, particularly on the long-term unemployed and for apprentices. A ‘Local Labour’ Charter has been put in place, committing contractors to recruiting up to 20% of all new employees through the Area Network Skills Register.

In the last quarter of 2013, the Grangegorman Development Agency awarded 4 contracts with a combined value of €40m. To date, there are 183 people employed on the site of which 29, or 16%, are from Dublin 1 or Dublin 7. As well as the significant impact the Grangegorman DIT facility will have on third level education, this project will also deliver significant employment with 2,000 construction jobs from now until 2017 and a further 1,161 full time jobs created on completion. That is a scale equivalent to two Dundrum Town Centres.

All this shows that Grangegorman is truly a flagship PPP project. A new urban quarter is being created in Dublin’s north inner city with health, education and community at its heart, opening up a once walled off part of Dublin. It is a project with which I am truly proud to be associated.

Brendan Howlin, TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform