The Minister for the Arts, John O'Donoghue, has told the Dáil that the proposed new Abbey Theatre will not be built on its current site.
The Minister also confirmed that the Abbey would not be moving to the Carlton Cinema site on O'Connell Street.
He confirmed to Fine Gael's Jimmy Deenihan that the OPW had been asked to investigate alternative sites that can not be identified at present.
O'Donoghue also said that he hoped to be in a position to announce the new site before the end of the current year.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Abbey Theatre, Eithne Healy, today welcomed the Arts Council's confirmation that it has engaged Anne Bonnar as lead consultant for the Council's review of the Abbey.
"We are looking forward to giving Anne Bonnar every assistance with her review", Healy said.
"With this week's publication of the Abbey's Working Group Report and the start today of the Arts Council review, I feel there is now a real momentum on all sides to address the difficulties facing the Theatre and place it on a firm foundation for the future."
