Minister still awaits National Stadium proposals

THERE will be a further delay in any national stadium plans as neither the IRFU or the FAI are expected to meet the April 15th deadline set

Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue said yesterday that he expects the two organisations to submit their proposals at end of the month. He also reiterated a lack of available funding for the completion of Croke Park.

“The deadline was the end of next week, but they have asked for more time to get their proposals ready,” the Minister said. “I hope they submit their proposals soon. Whenever I get them I will send the reports to the Government.”

It is believed that a feasibility study, done at the IRFU’s behest, has outlined that the 14-acre site at Lansdowne Road is not suitable as a venue as it would be unable to accommodate the 65,000-seater stadium planned for. That has meant Abbotstown, the government’s preferred site, is back on the agenda.

“Abbotstown was never off the agenda,” the Minister countered. “It was never excluded from the equation - Lasndowne Road, the glass bottle site in Ringsend, Newland’s Cross and Abbotstown. All I am waiting for is the proposals from the IRFU and the FAI as to what their preferences are and their proposals in relation to funding for the new stadium.”

While even the developmental plans for the national stadium remain in the pipeline, the GAA have stuck to their guns in keeping their stadium to themselves, refusing to debate the possibility at this weekend’s Congress. However, neither the IRFU or the FAI have asked the Minister to intervene on their behalf.

“I got no request from either IRFU or FAI for use of Croke Park in the immediate future. Last year, we asked for the use of Croke Park for Euro 2008 bid and that was the only purpose.

“I only asked for Croke Park to be used on a once-off basis for Euro 2008. At no point did I ask the GAA to open up their stadium for other sports. I only asked for Euro 2008 and I was refused. The only matter is a matter for themselves, not me.”

As the idea of a publicly-funded national stadium has been scrapped, money promised to the GAA by the Taoiseach is now no longer an issue. The Minister, at the launch of the Sport Council’s strategy, says there is nothing left in the coffers to help ease the debt of Croke Park.

“The GAA has already got a substantial amount of money from the government. The remainder of that money was predicated on the national stadium being built from public exchequer funds.

“The amount of money available to me this year is nowhere near the amount of money that would be needed for Croke Park. The money in my department is for far smaller projects. I am supportive of any application the GAA make in regard to funding for Croke Park. But I have made clear to them that I have no money available to me in this year’s sports capital budget to make funding available for Croke Park.”