Events centre launch is not election stunt, says Simon Coveney

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has hit back at suggestions that the Taoiseach’s sod turning on the €53m Cork events centre site on Friday before final contracts are signed is an election stunt.

Mr Coveney said after months of complex negotiations on funding, the big ticket items have been concluded, with just finer details outstanding. He said the long-awaited 6,000-seat events centre will be built within two years.

“This is not a photo opportunity. This is the end of a complex two-and-a-half year process. And Friday’s event is the formal launch of a project that Cork has been waiting decades for. This will happen,” he insisted.