asked the Minister for Education if he will give a progress report on the proposed national sports centre; the facilities to be included in the centre; its estimated cost; its time scale for planning and construction; and if he will give details of financing of the project.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - National Sports Centre.
8.
(Dún Laoghaire): I understand that the committee who were established to examine the requirement of the national sports centre will be submitting their report to me by the end of May or early June. In the course of their active examination of this proposal the committee, inter alia, have received submissions from the national governing bodies of sport and other interested parties, have met many of these bodies, have carried out a detailed survey of the requirements of the sports bodies, and have inspected possible locations for the siting of a national sports centre.
Until I have received the report of the committee and have considered their findings and recommendations I regret that I am unable to give any detailed information to the Deputy.
This is the first time that I have met the Minister of State in his new office and I congratulate him on his appointment. Would he confirm that he has received a submission from Athlone UDC in this regard and also could he give the date on which the committee of Cospóir will make their formal announcement of the choice of site?
(Dún Laoghaire): A number of submissions have been received. Questionnaires were issued to governing bodies of sport; 63 completed questionnaires were received. Advertisements were placed in the national daily newspapers seeking submissions from interested parties; 19 submissions were received. A number of oral submissions have also been made. I confirm that Athlone UDC have made a submission.
In relation to the siting of the sport centre, that would be a question for the Minister of the day to make a decision.
I was asking about the date on which Cospóir would make their announcement.
(Dún Laoghaire): They will not be making the announcement.
The Minister of State, or his Minister.
(Dún Laoghaire): The sub-committee of Cospóir will be submitting a report to me with recommendations and, as I said earlier, it is hoped that that report will be submitted at the end of May or early June.
May I ask the Minister when the committee to which he refers was set up?
(Dún Laoghaire): The inaugural meeting was held on 8 November 1985 and further meetings were held on 11 December 1985, 29 January 1986 and 26 February 1986.
This is the first and only major initiative by this Government on the development of sport and it is rather late in the day, three years after this Government came into office, to hold the first meeting of a committee which was set up simply to be seen to be doing something about the national sports centre——
That is an argument, not a question.
Much play has been made from a publicity point of view by the Minister's predecessor of the fact that the national sports centre was at an advanced stage of development.
That is a good speech, but this is not the place or the time to make it.
It is not my intention to make a speech. This committee was set up very recently. Very little work has been done in regard to this project and no money has been provided. The Minister has not answered the question which I put down in Deputy Byrne's name. It is most unsatisfactory that now, almost four years into this Government's term of office——
This is a very long speech. I am calling Question No. 9.
Will the Minister decide where the sports centre will be sited or will it be left to An Cospóir?
(Dún Laoghaire): It will be my decision.