AT LEAST four major property developers are believed to have formally expressed interest in building a national stadium.

THE GAA is in no hurry to respond to the Government's request for Croke Park to be made available for the 2008 European Soccer championships, association chiefs said yesterday.

LESS than four months ago, Bertie Ahern was High King of Ireland. As head of the first Government to be re-elected since 1969, he was hailed as the most popular politician since Jack Lynch, who in his day had been dubbed the most popular since Daniel O’Connell.

The Minister for Finance says it is up to the GAA if they want to allow Croke Park be used for soccer if Ireland is successful in it’s bid to host the 2008 European Soccer Championships.

THE GAA insisted last night the Government’s multi-million euro grant package towards the redevelopment of Croke Park came with no strings attached.

Political Reporter

The Government is expected to advertise in tomorrow’s newspapers for the private sector to extricate it from its latest embarrassment

APPROVAL from the GAA to the Government request to use Croke Park on a once-off basis for the 2008 European Soccer championships may ultimately happen on a groundswell of support being generated within the association.

THE GAA could agree to open up Croke Park on a once-off basis to host the 2008 European Soccer championships, but only if it managed to negotiate a financial package with the Government that would be too good to turn down.

THE GAA last night rebuffed a request by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to help rescue the Irish-Scottish bid for the 2008 European soccer championships.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern and Tánaiste Mary Harney will today begin efforts to find a compromise on the planned National Stadium as time begins to run out for the joint Irish-Scottish bid for the 2008 European soccer championships.

Plans for a new national stadium were thrown into doubt tonight as a fresh split within the coalition government emerged.

Talks between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats (PDs) on the formation of the country's next coalition Government continued today.

Tanaiste Mary Harney will continue to threaten the chances of a joint Scottish-Irish bid for the 2008 European soccer championships if her party is returned to power in a coalition government in the forthcoming General Election, it emerged today.

Foreign minister Brian Cowen is to be quizzed about the possible appointment of a policing ombudsman.