The crinkle cut roof-top terrace. LOL

What!, and let the proletariat march around the place with their threadbare clothes and filthy boots! Good God man have you last your senses?!

It’ll create a lot of construction jobs. Baffled how this got through planning with 22 storeys on the quay, and National Children’s hospital was turned down with 16 storeys…

It’s down to who you know Michael…

The National Children’s Hospital was rejected by An Born Pleanála, but the LIberty Hall project hasn’t got to that stage yet. It was Dublin City Council who granted permission. The plan might be rejected yet!
I won’t be sorry to see Liberty Hall coming down though, it’s lost all its original charm since the transparent windows were replaced and the mosaic was covered over.

And on a side note, how the hell can this get planing permision and a childrens hospital not??????

Lot of construction workers will be delighted. We own the banks. Now a union has become a property developer. Funny old world. ..

@Michael I think you’ll find we don’t own the banks, only their debts.

I think you’ll find we do. AIB, EBS, IBRC (incorporating Anglo Irish Bank & the Irish Nationwide BS) are all in majority state ownership:

“The High Court subsequently approved the deal on Dec 24 2010, allowing the Irish government to take a 49.9% stake in the bank, rising to 92.8% following disposal of the Polish subsidiary to Banco Santander.
AIB became the fourth of Ireland’s “Big Six” financial institutions to be nationalized, following Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide, and EBS Building Society. AIB was delisted from the main market of the Irish Stock Exchange on 25 January 2011 and the NYSE on 26 August 2011″ Wikipedia…

If it was a state owned bank then yes maybe… difference is that SIPTU aren’t a state owned bank.

Personally i think folly is quite apt, this is going to be nothing more than a monument to SIPTUs own self-importance. Just my opinion though…

Yes, that would be the monument the clowns at Anglo-Irish Bank were going to build to their own self-importance.

Best photo I could find. http://dt106ers.com/blog/2009/10/siptu-unveils-liberty-hall-plan/ Oh and AFAIK it will be the tallest building in Ireland as well.

Think that was the older design, think this is it.

Night

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/images/2011/1224/1224309471295_1.jpg?ts=1324724788

Daytime

http://img.rasset.ie/00055e0b-314.jpg

Nothing wrong with that design, RDX862. I don’t understand this aversion of tall buildings in this country. Tall buildings are fine when designed well.

@RDX862 I can’t call that an improvement. A bigger eyesore than the one that’s already there.

“As a result of relying on partly-assisted natural ventilation as well as low-watt lighting, solar panels and a building energy management system, Siptu would be able to reduce its annual energy bill from €450,000 to just €220,000 a year”

That’s a hell of a saving over the years…

Couldn’t agree more Declan. We are a European capital and with good quality architecture, tall buildings would add to the city’s character. Keep them in one area if needs be e.g the docklands.

Correct, Dave C. The docklands is a missed opportunity. Most buildings are the same height & boring. The (damn) Celtic Tiger years were the years to “Manhattanise” the docklands. But – no. This aversion to tall buildings & listening to every nob who objected on top of an out of date civil service has left us with a very dull, boring & yet more boring landscape. I was in Melbourne, Australia, & their tall buildings are wonderful to look at, are workable & add to a city’s environment. But not in this country. No wonder we are f*cked as a nation. Very little forward thinking.

Hate to be pedantic but the correct spelling is wankers.

What better use than providing hundreds of much needed construction jobs. Should siptu just give money away?

A Union is supposed to be for the best interest of its members – not a “for-profit” organisation – any excess it gets should be used for the benefit of all the workers who (have in the past or currently) contribute so that there is a surplus in the first place, especially those who are no longer in employment – and yes it’ll create some construction jobs – but really – is this the best use of that surplus???? Are there not plenty of empty NAMA offices – couldn’t they buy one of those instead and put the finance into the economy in that way?

The silence of the Unions in the face of austerity is deafening – it’s very disheartening that this is the type of thing that they appear to be focusing on and then announcing – whether they have a new building or not WILL NOT HELP any of their membership (past or present) one iota -(and it sounds just like another vanity project to me).

Actually most of us don’t live in a capital city

Ya Michael I am being sarcastic. This is a senseless and needless action by SIPTU.

I agree its not the best looking building in the world.
Its still a Iconic building with Bags of history including 1916 Easter Rising,James Connolly and a building that served in the stepping stones of the General Workers Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Hall

Frank, more of your lies, I thought that you were recently put straight. Perhaps you would like to substantiate some of your ‘facts’ in relation to pay for union officers? It might be difficult as you’re full of sh1t

Jones… the only person that might want to check his info is you. Frank well done. Union fatcats are just as bad as the government fatcats we just got rid of. the fact that they have to build a taller tower means they are trying to compensate for something. :-)

Sean, I know the facts

For possibly the first time ever I find myself in agreement with you. My employer requires that I’m in this union. It pains me to see the dues go out of my wages each week. We’ve seldom needed their services, but anytime we have they’ve been pretty useless. Jack O’Connor and the other leaders seem more than happy on their big wages cosying up to government ministers and this is just another vanity project wasting ordinary members money.

They are not just building it for the sake of it. The current building is obviously not serving their needs, I assume they own the property?(I have no idea) So It would be cheaper for them to build a new building with all the energy and economical saving materials, so they will save money in the long term. There has been talk of this for years! so the money is obviously put by for it. The fact that it will create 200 jobs while building is nothing to be upset over! Bring it on!

And what about the other (450,000 -200=) 449,800 unemployed people who paid their union dues all their working lives . This is such an obvious clichéed reaction to such a waste of money …. 200 employed ….big ffin deal. Where were the union when peoples jobs were being lost or when we (have to)pay the banks bail outs and the unsecured bond holders …..etc or indeed the Troika? This new building should be wrapped up in a Big Brown Envelope …….

There are people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. This is another one of these cases . People should really look at what is really valuable.
Jobs
Education
Special needs
Care of the elderly
Health
Homes
Crime prevention
Suicide awareness
Road traffic deaths
to mention just a few …

I’m not disputing money could be better spent! All money could be better spent! A bottle of wine bought in the supermarket, that money would be better off on the telephone bill or ESB bill?

As I said, the money put by for this was done so atleast 6 years ago when I first heard about it in college. It was probably contractually tied up somewhere. I’m only throwing reasonable ideas out there to give two sides a debate but it’s not just going to be another empty office block, it will serve its purpose, bring employment(200 is better than nothing) and it’ll replace a practically derelict building.

Like I said There are people who know the price of every thing ….
This building was let go derelict , just the same way our country
has been let go to wrack and ruin. I am always amazed at the attitude
of ”let’s knock it down” . Anyway like you say 200 people might get work
of course they will have to put the work out to tender and we can always
wait and see who will be brought in to do the work ….
I am just very disappointed at the lack of support the unions have given
to the people ! I just can not summon any enthusiasm for their little bits of
”news” That’s all !

Yeah I’ve always quite liked liberty hall

You mean the Elysian that has basically been empty since it was built?

Keep sending your taxes up to us, we are having jelly and ice cream. Good lads!

Damien Dobs
That really is a silly comment !
There is no need for a new building to be built .
There are plenty of empty ones around ,I am
sure they could rent.
But more to the point , Is this what they are
spending our hard earned and paid up subscriptions
are going towards…
Or is this ”folly” as some one else described it as
the payment in return for the Silence of the unions
in return for not speaking out in support of laid off workers ,
reduction in redundancy payments , massive unemployment,
massive emmigration, huge numbers of public service retirements,
Hospital A+E closures, Hospital bed closures,increased taxes and charges
Our unions are dead and yet they want to build this mausoleum in their memory

So I take it from the red thumbs that there are 7 people think that the unions have done a great job supporting
the workers and unemployed /redundant people, particularly those who lost their jobs because of allegedly fraudulent activity in certain banking circles …… Ah well I can not say I can see the good myself . The unions have betrayed us and the memory of Jim Larkin . There are some out there who just can not see the bigger picture.