Ahern: Government funding for Croker not linked to Rule 42

Bertie Ahern: "The factual position is this: Croke Park had got the money all the way along, and was going to get the money all the way along, so it didn’t matter what happened with the Rule — we were going to pay."

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has dismissed suggestions that government funding for the redevelopment of Croke Park was ever linked to the GAA’s refusal to amend Rule 42 in 2001.

In an episode of Scannal to be broadcast on RTÉ One at 8pm this evening which deals with Ahern’s planned national sports stadium — the so-called ‘Bertie Bowl — some contributors speculate whether the GAA’s refusal to allow rugby and soccer to be played in Croke Park was a boost to Ahern’s plans for a national stadium.