St Patrick's College in Drumcondra, Co Dublin, is to undergo a major revamp, it has been revealed.

Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe announced that a major campus development project can now go to tender.

The project, on which building work should begin next year, includes new lecture theatres, libraries and offices across 11,800sq/m, with 6,000sq/m of that accounting for refurbished space.

Announcing the move to tender, Minister O'Keeffe said: "This project will transform the campus in St Patrick's College of Education and bring its facilities to a new level of state-of-the-art modernity.

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"The project, which is being funded under the National Development Plan, will concentrate all 2,400 students in the Drumcondra campus of St Patrick's College of Education.

"Eighteen new lecture theatres will replace temporary prefabricated units and two new libraries will end cramped conditions for students.

"The project, located to the rear of the existing buildings, will also include specialist teaching areas and extra seminar rooms."

He said the campus development plan will radically modernise St Patrick's College of Education and was given the go-ahead following a rigorous Government appraisal applied to all proposals for large-scale building projects in higher education.

St Patrick's College of Education campus development project was the subject of a detailed cost-benefit analysis which robustly validated the underlying need for investment.

The Minister added: "This year the Government is investing over €770m in the building programme for schools and colleges, creating almost 5,000 new construction jobs.

"The jobs figure is based on industry analysts' conservative estimate that 9.3 is the average number of direct jobs created annually by €1m of investment."

(PR/BMcC)