Pages 20 & 21

20 U.C.D. and the Future

The Report gives no indication that the Commission gave serious thought
to any of the above considerations. This failure is a major defect.

D. THE COST OF U.C.D. EXPANSION

1. THE CAPITAL COST, INCLUDING COST OF EQUIPMENT

The total estimated cost of building the whole new College on Stillorgan Road
is £6,700,000 (exclusive of the cost of purchasing the site and of its
maintenance to date). This figure was arrived at by accepting the College's
estimate of £5,812,000 calculated in 1952 and allowing for a 15% increase in
building costs since then.

The original estimate includes a provision of only £123,000 for furniture
and equipment. The Commission states (Report, p. 125) that the final estimate
is exclusive of the cost of 'furniture and additional equipment.' Hence we must
assume that the Commission regarded the original provision as negligible com-
pared with the real cost. The sum estimated for 'furniture and equipment' in
1952 for Science (£30,000) was specifically stated to be 'exclusive of special
scientific equipment,' but no such reservation was then made in the case of
the other faculties. The sum then proposed in the case of the 'Engineering and
Architecture' building was £10,000 which would hardly provide for the require-
ments of the architectural section alone.

Obviously in the case of the faculty of Engineering there is a need to prepare
an estimate of the cost of the required equipment. It is highly improbable that
the equipment at present in Merrion Street — the lathes and other workshop
machines, the demonstration generators, motors, engines, etc. — will suffice.
We believe that extensive re-equipment of the faculty will be necessary by the
time the move takes place and that the cost will be very considerable. The total
floor space at the disposal of the faculty is to be increased more than three-fold;
and the faculty must be equipped for teaching and research in at least four
major fields, viz. civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering. At least
£126,000 has been estimated for equipment for the new engineering depart-
ment at the Institute of Technology in Bolton Street, which is concerned mainly
with mechanical engineering.

The faculties of Science and Medicine will also need considerable further
equipment if their greater floorspace is to be utilised adequately. It must
further be remembered that the need, hitherto confined to science and technology,
for equipment and apparatus is spreading to the Arts faculty, and that several
expanding subjects will need specialised equipment not possessed before. Even
in this faculty, and in the Library and Administrative Buildings, there is little
point in estimating for the buildings if the furniture and equipment which are
needed to enable the extended departments to function are not allowed for.
It must be remembered that the total floor space to be furnished and equipped
in the proposed new College is about three times the floor space at present
in use.

All these considerations suggest that Mr. Aodhogan O'Rahilly may not be
unreasonable in saying in his Minority Report (Report p. 48): 'The cost of the
new University, if it is properly equipped, will be nearer to £10 million than
£5 million.' For the purpose of the table which we give below, we have been

Problems in the Proposed Move 21

extremely conservative and have set the cost of equipment and furnishings at
£1,000,000.

We urge that the College authorities be requested to prepare detailed
estimates of the equipment requirements of all the faculties on the assumption
that the complete set of new buildings is to be provided.

Whatever such detailed estimates would reveal, it is noted that the total
capital cost of the Stillorgan Road project is to be offset by an allowance of
approximately £1,500,000 for premises surrendered. It is intimated in the
Commission's Report that the premises might be acquired for use as Govern-
ment offices. A most important consideration arises out of this. In effect the
Report recommends to the Government an expenditure of £5,200,000 on new
university buildings and a further expenditure of £1,500,000, plus the cost of
adaptation, on the acquisition of additional Government offices. The Commission
state (Report, p. 37):

'The Commissioners of Public Works have informed the Commission
that both the College of Science and the Earlsfort Terrace buildings are
suitable generally for purposes of Government departments, but in each
case extensive alterations would be needed; and at this stage the Com-
missioners were not in a position to hazard a guess what the cost of these
alterations might be.'

We will be a little bolder and hazard a guess. Information is provided by
the Commission in relation to the conversion to new uses of existing buildings
at Galway. They write (Report, p. 120):

It is commonly recognised that estimation of the cost of adapting
old buildings is difficult and that actual cost may prove as high as the
cost of providing an equal amount of accommodation in new buildings.
For this reason we are of the opinion that the rate of £3.10s. (per sq.
ft.) now estimated is as good as can now be furnished.'

If U.C.D. moves out of town the floor area to be surrendered to the Govern-
ment, for a consideration of £1,500,000 is approximately 150,000 sq. ft. nett
in sound buildings. This approximates to 200,000 sq. ft. gross. At £3.10s. per
sq. ft. the cost of conversion would therefore be £700,000. Of course it may
be said that the unit cost of converting Earlsfort Terrace to Government use
would be very much lower than this estimate — but conversely the unit cost of
converting the Science Buildings would certainly be very much more.

The total sum therefore that the Government is prepared to spend on
acquiring new premises is approximately £2,200,000. This makes no provision
for the furnishing and equipment of such new Government premises and it takes
no account of the future fate of the unsound buildings at Earlsfort Terrace,
which will have to be adapted, or demolished and replaced.

It is clear that the capital expenditure involved in acquiring, adapting and
furnishing for Government use the premises vacated by the College is well
in excess of £2,000,000. We hold that, given the decision to spend even
£2,000,000 on new Government premises, it can be decided to move some
Government departments from their present offices to new blocks, elsewhere,
thus releasing property of inestimable value to the College. Then, given about