Cork board driving on with €70m Páirc Uí Chaoimh plan

The Cork County Board will press on with the planned redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, flatly contradicting media reports yesterday that Government funding for the project was being withheld.

Cork GAA officials were surprised by the revelations yesterday that a cost benefit analysis submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was deemed “overly optimistic”, and are dismayed that the comments were made public.

The board responded quickly with a statement regarding the report, which states that an initial payment of €10 million has been withheld. The board statement read in part: “No State monies have been withheld from the project and no drawdown of monies has been requested by Cork County Board.

“An initial Cost Benefit Analysis draft on the project was submitted in December 2014 and is the subject of ongoing dialogue with the relevant officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

“It is entirely appropriate and is the norm that any case being made for the expenditure of public monies would be subject to rigorous examination. Cork County Board is fully engaged with the department in that process.

“The board is confident that the basis of the business case for the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh is correct and will be pleased to provide any further information or clarification requested by the department as part of the process now underway.”

Cork GAA officials are confident of completing their intended redevelopment within the timeframe originally envisaged, hosting the Munster football final in two years’ time, and there was strong support yesterday for the project from local politicians.

MEP Sean Kelly, a former President of the GAA, also supported the project, telling Newstalk: “This is only a temporary setback because the points made are I think, perhaps even overly finicky. I think all the questions raised can be answered.”

Kelly also asked why concerns were being raised at this point in the process: “It doesn’t reflect that well on the department themselves either. That should have been all looked at before the commitment was given.”

Kelly’s comments about the performance of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform were echoed by GAA officials yesterday, who are confident that the matter will be resolved soon.

If Government funding for the stadium were not forthcoming, and Páirc Uí Chaoimh were not redeveloped, the ramifications would go beyond the GAA world, as the Cork venue forms part of the Irish bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

In February, GAA President Paraic Duffy told this paper’s John Fogarty: “I think the Rugby World Cup was certainly a factor and probably a help for getting the (Government) funding for the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We’re very supportive of the World Cup bid and clearly most of the stadia being used will be GAA stadia, and if the country wants a successful bid and we want to stage the tournament properly then we need good stadia and GAA stadia are an important part of that.”

However, that Irish bid is already under pressure given suggestions last month from World Rugby chief Brett Gosper that the 2023 tournament could feature 24 teams rather than the current 20 sides.

Such a development would put a strain on Ireland’s hosting capacity, particularly in comparison with other potential hosts such as South Africa, Argentina and Italy, which have no shortage of suitable venues.

If the bid were withdrawn, of course, then the point would be moot.

The redevelopment of the Cork stadium comes with a cost of approximately €70 million. Earlier this year Cork chairman Ger Lane outlined that in addition to the €30 million from the Government, the board was relying on €20m from GAA central funds, €10m from the board’s own reserves, in addition to a recent grant of €3.75m from the Munster Council.

“We’re hugely appreciative of those funds,” said Lane at that point. “That means we have the bones of €64m accounted for and I think with any project costing €70m, if you have €64m in place, then that’s a good start.”

The chairman then added that initiatives such as the sale of naming rights would form part of the business plan, though yesterday’s reports made no reference to such potential revenues.