Security risks are behind the need for 40 additional car spaces for US government cars and embassy staff at the former Jury’s Hotel site in Ballsbridge, consultants for the US embassy in Ireland have said.
In documents lodged with Dublin City Council, engineering company Arup state the US embassy’s continued reliance on external parking facilities in Dublin 4 “is unsustainable and poses operational and security risks”.
The US is seeking a five-year temporary planning permission for the surface car park at the former Jury’s Hotel site to accommodate 14 US government cars and 26 embassy staff cars.
Arup state the application for the additional spaces “in both fleet and staff parking is operationally necessary and essential to meet daily functional needs and long-standing security standards”.
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Arup say the embassy site car park has reached its functionalcapacity. It has only usable space for 15 fleet cars and points out that there are 29 US government assigned cars to the embassy.
The documentation lists the government assigned cars as including three BMW X5s assigned to the ambassador. It also lists a Toyota Landcruiser assigned to the US secret service and is used for VIP support.
The US government purchased the Jury Hotel site last year and intends to spend close to $700 million (€603 million) on the construction of a new embassy there. Plans have yet to be submitted for the new embassy.
Outlining the needs for the additional car-spaces to serve the existing embassy, Arup state that “with 29 government-owned vehicles assigned to the Mission, daily reliance on off-site parking including paid lots, the Marine House, and Phoenix Park is unavoidable”.
Arup states“these fragmented arrangements have led to operational inefficiencies, restricted access, and temporary double-parking, raising safety concerns”.
The submission adds “the current Embassy site cannot accommodate these requirements, and there is no scope for expansion”.
It also states that
“security protocols require that vehicles transporting accredited diplomatic staff be parked within premises under direct US government control to ensure secure access, monitoring, and perimeter control.”
On the need for additional staff car-parking, the submission states staff numbers have doubled since 2008. The embassy employs 170 people today with 59 per cent commuting by private car and 85 per cent of those travelling alone.
