Arrival of students at Grangegorman DIT is first step in transformation of Dublin’s north inner city – Donohoe

Speaking today (Tuesday) from the Grangegorman DIT campus, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Dublin Central TD, Paschal Donohoe, said the arrival this week of the first 1,000 students to the campus breathes real life into a project that has the potential to transform Dublin’s north inner city area.

Minister Donohoe was visiting the campus with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, to welcome the students who began the academic year at Grangegorman yesterday (Monday).

“It is absolutely fantastic to see the students arriving at Grangegorman this week and to see this project, the origins of which stem back to 1999, come to life. Bringing the student population from the 39 separate DIT locations together on one campus will not only have a unifying effect on the largest higher education institute in the State, it will also have a tremendous impact on Dublin’s north inner city though the creation of a new urban quarter.

“I have continually praised the speed and quality of the work that has been carried out at the campus since work commenced in June 2013, following the project being given the green light as part of the Economic Stimulus Package in 2012. The fact that the first tranche of staff and students have made the initial move is a taste of what’s to come, with an additional 10,000 student planned to come on stream in 2017/18.

“The face of Dublin’s north inner city will be radically altered as a result of this project. Attempts have been made at all stages to give local communities a sense of ownership of and inclusion in the DIT’s central campus. The inclusion of a Labour and Learning Forum, and a local employment charter which dictates that 20% of contractor recruitment should come from local suppliers and tradespeople in the area, local communities have benefitted from the development. So too have the unemployed, through the targeting of 10% of employees on the PPP works from the Live Register.

“I am delighted to meet the students today who I have no doubt will thrive in their new surroundings and I look forward to welcoming thousands more as the development of Grangegorman progresses.”