Ministers defend announcing €30m Páirc funding

Government ministers who helped secure the €30m Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium grant have defended announcing the money before a detailed business plan was finalised.

Labour ministers of state Sean Sherlock and Kathleen Lynch insisted the Department of Public Expenditure’s concerns about Cork County Board’s business plan was a routine part of the examination of such large-scale projects which benefit from public funding.

But Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath said while he had no difficulty with a rigorous analysis of the business plan and its projections, he had concerns about the sequence of events.