Pages 48 & 49

48 U.C.D. and the Future

whole, the eleven houses (Nos. 67-70 and 72-76). Very few of these are used
for business purposes (e.g. two commercial colleges); others are dwelling
houses, some being let in flats. These houses include the least significant of
all the houses surrounding the Green. If ever this whole block, constituting
some 60% of St. Stephen's Green, South, had to be acquired by the College,
we submit that the disturbance to domestic and commercial property would be
slight compared with the gain to the College, whilst no disturbance to industrial
or hotel property would be entailed at all.

(ii) The Commission gave some brief attention to the question of acquiring
the whole of the blocks bordered by Earlsfort Terrace, Lr. Leeson Street
and Adelaide Road. We consider that this was unrealistic and unnecessary for
the College's needs. Much more limited acquisitions would suffice. While the
Commission was sitting, Comhluch Siuicre Eireann Teo. acquired a valuable
site (approx. 21,000 sq. ft.) stretching from Earlsfort Terrace to Leeson Street.
This has been cleared out but not yet built upon. In the triangular block
between Earlsfort Terrace, Lr. Leeson Street and Hatch Street two adjoining
properties between them occupy more than half of the area-- Alexandra College,
with a frontage of 470' on Earlsfort Terrace and the Sacred Heart Convent
in Leeson Street. Together these properties cover an area of about 3.4 acres.
The Commission might have confined its attention to the possibility of acquir-
ing either or both of these schools, which are inadequately housed, partly in
converted dwelling houses.

(iii) Regard might also be paid to the fact that when the new Elm Park
hospital is built, St. Vincent's will not require all of its present holdings
(approximately 2.7 acres) on St. Stephen's Green, East, and Lower Leeson Street.
We understand that the intention is to maintain a private nursing home
in the area, but a substantial amount of property should nevertheless be set
free. The co-operation of the authorities of St. Vincent's might be sought
with a view to their providing on this site the proposed 'Clinical Institute' to
be run in conjunction with the Medical school if it be retained at Earlsfort Terrace.
The great advantage of such a scheme would be that buildings already
exist for it--whereas the Clinical Institute, suggested as a new item for the
Stillorgan Road site, has not even been budgeted for.

C. LONG TERM EXPANSION

There remains one further assertion of the Commission in regard to siting,
on which we desire to comment. Despite the fact that a complete new College
would require only 813,300 sq. ft. gross of floor space (including the provision
for 20% expansion beyond present needs) and consequently a site area of
only 18.7 acres, the Commission writes as follows (Report, p.32):--

'If the extension to the canal (Block B1 and D) that we contem-
plated were practicable the College would have at Earlsfort Terrace
a total area of about 21 acres. As already stated we entertained the
possibilty of finding a solution. Later an examination of the
areas of the sites of other Universities and Colleges convinced us that
a proper and final solution to the accommodation needs of University College, Dublin,
could not be provided for on a site of 21 acres.'