Vol. 516 No. 1
2 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if the Government has made an offer to the FAI for loss of revenue from the sale of corporate boxes and seats if it agrees to abandon its plan to build a stadium and settle for a tenancy in the national stadium; and if the compensation covers the total income loss from the sale of corporate boxes and seats for a ten year period at an estimated value of £40 million. [6939/00]
The Deputy asked if an offer has been made to the FAI for loss of revenue from the sale of corporate boxes and seats if it agrees to abandon its plan to build a stadium and settle for a tenancy in the national stadium. The answer to this question is no.
The Minister may not have been at the meeting on Monday between the Taoiseach and senior FAI officials. The newspapers reported that an enhanced offer was made to the FAI so that it could be encouraged to abandon its plans for the development of Eircom Park. Will the Minister confirm if that meeting took place? If it did, why did he, as Minister with responsibility for sport, not attend it?
The meeting was arranged at very short notice and I had a prearranged meeting in Mountmellick on Monday. I do not have the powers of bilocation.
The Taoiseach has always indicated he wanted to meet the FAI and the FAI has always indicated that it wanted to meet him. Two other meetings were arranged at the behest of the FAI, but because of diary problems they could not go ahead. Consequently this meeting was arranged at short notice. We pointed out that it is the Government's wish and intention that the FAI should come on board and we felt it would be beneficial to both the Government and the FAI to work together along these lines. The Taoiseach pointed out the benefits to the FAI. However, he also pointed out to the FAI that it is all right for the Government to build a national stadium just as it is for any organisation to build a stadium. While these views were clearly outlined, the FAI indicated at the conclusion of the meeting that, while it appreciated the decision, it intended to build its own stadium.
Can I take it from the Minister's response that an offer was not made to the FAI to encourage it to abandon its plans for the Eircom Stadium and that press reports of such an offer, which were leaked to undermine the credibility of senior officers of the FAI, are incorrect? Is it not strange that the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation with responsibility for the capital programme for sport did not attend a meeting concerning a project costing between £280 million and £0.5 billion when completed? Will the Minister agree the public would be correct in assuming that the Taoiseach is calling the shots and pulling the strings, that he has no input into the project and that it is being said privately that he is opposed to the project because it will consume all the capital allocation available for sport in future?
This meeting was arranged at very short notice and two previous meetings were cancelled at the request of the FAI. The Deputy's argument is a spurious one.
Was an offer made or is the report in The Examiner incorrect?
The Department of the Taoiseach is handling the stadium issue and shortly after the Taoiseach returns from the United States the development committee will be set up and appointments will be made. An offer was not made to the FAI. The Taoiseach reiterated the previous offer that as many League of Ireland clubs as possible would be helped. Last year I helped six League of Ireland soccer clubs to the tune of £4 million and I will continue to help them in the coming year. I helped six more clubs than the Minister helped during his entire period in office.
We are not here to trade punches in relation to what we did or did not do. Will the Minister with responsibility for sport appeal to his Government colleagues to call off the propaganda war and the war of attrition against senior officials—
The Deputy must ask a question.
I am asking the Minister to ask his Government colleagues to call off the propaganda war and the war of attrition against senior officials of an independent sporting body. Will he also speak to the Minister for Defence who is now using unpublished Department of Defence documents to submit a planning objection to Eircom Stadium? As this is against the best interests of sport, will the Minister use his influence to stop this phoney propaganda war?
There is not a war of attrition between the Taoiseach, the FAI and me. I met the FAI on a number of social occasions. I attended functions and matches, together with the Taoiseach, in recent weeks and there is not a war of attrition between the Government and the FAI.
I read an article in this morning's newspaper stating, "Defence Minister declares war on stadium plan". This is total sensationalism. The Department of Defence has to lodge an objection in relation to Baldonnel on a technical basis. It is nothing more than that.
Based on a report which has not been published.
This objection must be lodged and the Minister for Defence will meet with the FAI next week to go through the details of the technical objection.
