Pages 12 & 13 - III. Problems Involved in the Proposed Move of U.C.D.

12 U.C.D. and the Future

Mr. de Valera said that the accommodation needs of the colleges were
such now that he was afraid that to think of reviving any such project
would mean further delay. His view had been that if they took the
Parliament buildings to another site, they could make room there for
the necessary extension of the cultural institiutions.

'In fifty years time,' he added, 'I hope the National University will
have a suitable home in Leinster House.'"

We do not agree that the dream is impossible. Given that the Government
is willing to spend sums of the order of those recommended by the Commission
and that, if these, some millions are in fact to be spent on acquiring new
premises for Government use, we submit that the general reshuffling of buildings
and sites that is to take place in any event can be made in such a way as
to keep U.C.D. in the central area. We note that despite Mr. de Valera's doubts
about the possibilities in the immediate future, he nonetheless feels that within
fifty years (and that is the foreseeable future for the younger generation) the
House of the Oireachtas may have to depart from Merrion Street. And if they
must depart, so will many of the Government departments. There will be little
point in then handing over the Merrion Street area to the N.U.I. for purely
administrative and ceremonial functions.

We maintain that incalculable damage will be done by not reviving the
scheme now. We cannot believe that U.C.D., or any group, would be so shortsighted
as to hinder the development of the logical plan - which would ultimately
redound to the lasting benefit not only of the College, but of our whole cultural
and educational future.

The consideration of such a long-term plan need not at all delay the relief
of the overcrowded conditions under which the College labours. As we indicate
later in Sections IV- VI, the sites at present held by the College are sufficient
for all the present needs as estimated by the Commission and in addition we
believe that adjacent sites could also be acquired, and that these would be
sufficient for the estimated future 20% expansion.

It is not yet too late for the great ideal as expressed in Mr. de Valera's
speech to be realised. But it is the eleventh hour. Once large-scale building
operations for U.C.D. are commenced on the Stillorgan site, the opportunity
may be gone forever.

III. PROBLEM INVOLVED IN THE PROPOSED MOVE OF U.C.D.

A. THE EFFECTS ON THE VARIOUS FACULTIES

It is obvious that the proposed move of U.C.D. to the Stillorgan Road site
will present problems, some of them serious to both staff and students. Even
if, and when, halls of residence are built there to house all the students from
outside Dublin, 37% (the 1953 - 54 figure) of the students will have their
homes in Dublin. Unless these students happen to live in the immediate
vicinity, or near the Bray Road, attendance at the College would usually
involve travelling to near the city centre and then out again if they rely on
public transport. The same problems of inconvenience and waste of time
will also face even the whole-time staff of the College to at least some
extent.

Problems in the Proposed Move 13

When detailed consideration is given to the effect of the move on the
various faculties, particularly those which are essentially engaged in professional
training, it will be seen that the problems are far greater than
those outlined above.

Medicine

The effects of removal on students and the weakening of ties with the
teaching hospitals and other medical schools, etc., will be dealt with in
Section III B of this Memorandum. But the effects on the teaching staff
which in many departments of the faculty is largely, if not entirely, part-
time, and is also engaged in the professional practice of medicine, must be
considered.

Apart from the staffs of the preclinical departments a high proportion
of the professors and virtually all of the lecturers are part-time. Even some
professors who are full-time are allowed a limited amount of private professional practice. The 'Clinical Tutors' are also full-time, but confine their
activities to the hospitals and have no duties on the College premises.

The College Calendar lists a large number of these part-time teachers,
the great majority of whom are clinical teachers at the recognised hospitals
and do not attend at the College buildings. Approximately forty of them,
however, do teach on the College premises and it will certainly prove inconvenient for these busy practitioners, who have both hospital duties and
private consulting rooms in the city, often close to Earlsfort Terrace, to have
to travel in and out to Stillorgan Road to give their one-hour lectures or
demonstrations.

Architecture

All but one of the College staff in this faculty are part-time and engaged
in professional practice. The students take a considerable part of their course
in the first, second and fourth years at the College of Art in Kildare Street.
Both students and staff make considerable use of the excellent library of the
R.I.A.I. in Merrion Square, and will want to make frequent use of the Building
Centre in Baggott Street. All of these important activities would be disrupted
by a move to Stillorgan Road. Our views on architectural teaching in the city
are outlined in Section III E of this Memorandum.

Law, Commerce, Economics

Here again the College has to rely almost entirely on part-time teachers
from the professions. Barristers, bankers, accountants and similar part-time
teachers from the professional and commercial world with heavy demands on
their time obviously would find it more convenient to lecture at Earlsfort Terrace
than at Stillorgan Road. Law students are compelled by the regulations of their
profession to attend at the King's Inns or the Four Courts or the offices to
which they are apprenticed, for lectures or other duties in addition to their
attendance at the College. At present there is considerable difficulty in arranging
suitable lecture hours for these students. Removal to Stillorgan Road would
seem to necessitate the employment of full-time university teachers in these