Pages 4 & 5 - Introduction

V. A STUDY OF ADJACENT SITES Page
A. The Commission's Rejection of Adjacent Sites 44
B. A Reconsideration of these and other Adjacent Sites 45
C. Long-term Expansion 48

VI. SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS A SOLUTION ON PRESENT AND ADJACENT
SITES 51

SUMMARY AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 54

POSTSCRIPT 57

APPENDICES
A. A Note on the College's Efforts to Expand 60
B. Comments on the Views of the College Authorities on the
Science Buildings, Merrion Street 61
C. A Note on Alternative Uses for the Stillorgan Road Estates 62
D. A List of Cultural, Educational, and Professional Bodies,
Schools and Hostels in the General University Area 64
E. A List of Government and Semi-State Offices in the Area 65
F. Details of the Harcourt Street Station Site 66
G. Sir Eric Ashby's Comments on 'Inefficient Utilisation of Plant' 67
H. Leading Article from 'The Irish Independent' 68
I. An Article from 'Irish Builder and Engineer' 70
J. Some other Views: (i) An Article from 'The Tablet', 72
(ii) Professor Stanford's Views 73
MAP: The Vicinity of Earlsfort Terrace

INTRODUCTION

The essential thesis presented in regard to U.C.D. by the Report of the
Commission on Accommodation Needs of the Constituent Colleges of the
National University of Ireland is that, while it is desirable to seek a solution for
the urgent accommodation needs of the College by expansion from the present
sites, such a solution is impracticable.

We accept the basic fact that U.C.D.'s accommodation needs are urgent
and must be met without delay. We differ emphatically from the Commission
in its belief that those needs cannot be met except by moving to Stillorgan Road.

The cost of a complete new College must be borne in mind, but this is not
the only factor involved; we believe and hope to establish, that the move would
have grave consequences, both for the College and for the City. The future of
higher education in Dublin would be radically affected and the cultural and
educational centre of the Capital would be disintegrated.

The Commission by devoting its attention primarily and almost entirely to
matters of space and sites, and by not fully investigating all the other very
important factors involved, recommended a move to the suburbs. Having done
that, it did not even thne fully consider and give due weight to all the con-
sequences of the proposal.

We are convinced that the Commission is in fact wrong in its belief that
expansion is impracticable from the present sites: it follows that the decision to
move to the Stillorgan Road must be considered in the light of the consequences
to which we have referred.

In short, the Stillorgan Road project is, in our view, both unnecessary and
undesirable.