A €100m regeneration project in the heart of Dublin will cover its costs by incorporating office space, the developer has said.

A public planning hearing is currently being held into CIE's proposals for Tara Street Station, which is now set to include a landmark 60-metre high skyscraper, offering 13,000 square-metres of space, over a 0.3 acre site.

"The office development element of the project means that, as well as delivering a landmark building to the city, the new station facility will be developed at no cost to the taxpayer or our customers," a CIE spokesman said.

Featuring a 12-metre high station concourse, the new station will provide access to DART and other rail services.

The developer said - despite the economic gloom - it is "confident" the scheme will go ahead.

-- Advertisement --

According to the CIE spokesman: "We have a unique site in the heart of the Central Business District, with unparalleled public transport access, and look forward to developing this project, incorporating major enhancements to the station for our customers."

Building works will be phased to allow the station to operate throughout.

It is anticipated the scheme, if approved, could begin next year, and take up to two years to complete.

Several statutory bodies have reportedly looked at the plans, and corresponded with An Bord Pleanala.

They include the Dublin Transport Authority, National Roads Authority, Dublin City Council, the RPA, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

A decision on the future of the scheme is expected by the end of September.

A spokesperson for transport provider Iarnród Éireann said: "Tara Street Station is one of the most important stations in the country, and investment planned under Transport 21 will see the capacity of the rail line increase significantly.

"We therefore need a quality station to accommodate our current and future customers. This planning application will allow us to develop such a station and crucially, allow us to deliver these improvements while minimising the impact on the travelling public."

(PR/JM)