I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 10, inclusive, together.
The private donation of £50 million from Mr. J. P. McManus towards the financing and development of Campus and Stadium Ireland has been given effect by way of a letter of assignation between Pictet & Cie, Geneva – the "Bank"– and the Department of the Taoiseach –"Beneficiary". This represents the full extent of the agreement. No other condition or consideration arises.
The document was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 25 February 2000.
I take this opportunity to place on record the Government's appreciation of Mr. McManus's most generous donation.
I met a senior delegation of the FAI on 6 March. In attendance were Pat Quigley, President, Michael Hyland, Chairman, National League, Brendan Menton, Hon. Treasurer and Bernard O'Byrne, Chief Executive.
I took the opportunity to convey my view to the delegation that I would like to see them come on board with the Stadium Ireland project and my reasons for that view. I explained that the design for Stadium Ireland is for 80,000 seats built to the highest international standards. This would include 8,200 premium seats, 96 corporate boxes, each with 12 seats, four party suites accommodating 100 and a VIP box with a capacity of 200. This configuration could be changed during the design phase to suit requirements.
I pointed out that if the FAI were to avail of the Stadium Ireland facility, it would be in a position to receive the revenue from the sale of the seats and the boxes in the stadium, guaranteeing an immediate significant income stream without any risk on the part of the FAI. The FAI would be free to transfer any contractual arrangements it had entered into for Eircom Park in respect of the sale of corporate boxes and seats to Stadium Ireland. A conservative estimate of this revenue would be in the region of £40 million. In addition, the FAI would not be faced with any capital debt repayments or infrastructural costs.
I also discussed the potential planning difficulties faced by the FAI in relation to their Eircom Park proposal. Deputies will have seen the public statement issued by the Department of Defence after its recent meeting with the FAI. While this is a matter for the planning authorities in the final analysis, the difficulties facing the FAI cannot be underestimated and I considered that it was important to explain that to the delegation.
Participation in Stadium Ireland would allow the FAI to invest some £40 million to meet its stated aim of developing the game of soccer at local and community level while having a state-of-the-art facility for international games. In addition, the FAI would have available to it the funds which the Government is prepared to make available in line with our commitment to the development of sport in Ireland.
The FAI stated in response, that it intended to proceed with its project but would avail of Stadium Ireland when Eircom Park did not meet its capacity requirements. I have no information on whether that position has changed on foot of its meeting with the Department of Defence. I accept that the development of Eircom Park is a matter for the FAI in the final analysis and I respect its wishes in that regard even though I consider that my proposal is the one that makes sports and business sense.
The Government is now pressing ahead with the development of Campus and Stadium Ireland. The board of the development company had its first meeting on Wednesday, 29 March and the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation attended with me. We asked the board to press ahead with its work with all reasonable speed.
Deputies Allen, Quinn and Joe Higgins rose.