Vol. 520 No. 4
20 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation when it is expected that the board of trustees, in whom the assets of Sports Campus Ireland will be entrusted, will be established; the manner in which the trustees will be appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15907/00]
24 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if the 50 metre swimming pool element of the National Stadium will be ready in time for the Special Olympics; and when a planning application for the national stadium will be submitted. [15977/00]
27 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a comprehensive statement on the up-to-date estimate of the cost of Sports Campus Ireland, with all knock-on costs included. [15924/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 24 and 27 together.
Deputies will be aware that, following the Government's decision in January last to proceed with the development of Campus and Stadium Ireland, a development company under the chairmanship of the former Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, Paddy Teahon, was established. The company has the responsibility for taking the project through the design and construction stages.
The first step in the development of Sports Campus Ireland will be a final decision on an aquatic centre to be ready for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2003. Following on from the original feasibility study, PricewaterhouseCoopers has been engaged to carry out a further feasibility study on Sports Campus Ireland and it is expected that the outcome of this study will be available in the near future. I understand the board of the development company will make a recommendation to the Government on this matter following consideration of the further feasibility study. The matter of a planning application for the stadium is one for the board of the development company and the appropriate planning authority.
The assets of the campus and stadium will be vested in a board of trustees which will be appointed by the Government in the near future. The trustees will be given terms of reference which will include confirming that the development of Campus and Stadium Ireland is in line with guiding principles to be set by the Govern ment. I appreciate that Deputies John Bruton and Quinn agreed to nominate representatives to the board of trustees.
On the up-to-date estimate of the cost of Sports Campus Ireland, there has not been any change in the figure of £281 million set down by consultants, PricewaterhouseCoopers, in the original feasibility study published in January 2000.
The Minister's treatment of the figures is somewhat bewildering. The original estimate of the cost of Sports Campus Ireland was £281 million, to which has been added a further £20 million in respect of the construction of a 50 metre pool at the aquatic centre. The consultants studied 15 projects in other countries while drawing up their feasibility study and they discovered that, on average, such projects overran by approximately 73.4%. Taking that and the average overrun percentage into account, Sports Campus Ireland will cost more than £500 million.
A question please, Deputy.
We were recently informed that transfer of the State Laboratory from Abbotstown would cost £90 million. Is the Minister in a position to provide an overall figure – one which includes the cost of ancillary developments – for the cost of Sports Campus Ireland? Does he agree that the final cost will probably be in the region of £1 billion?
As already stated, following completion of a comprehensive feasibility study, it was estimated that the construction of Sports Campus Ireland would cost £281 million. That remains the position. The Deputy should be aware that the French, the Welsh, the British, the Germans, the Australians and the Americans have also built stadia, the cost of which ranged from approximately £150 million to £300 million.
A further feasibility study has been carried out in respect of the aquatic centre because we want to show the world that we will be able to run a comprehensive Special Olympic Games in 2003. For that reason, a special aquatic centre must be provided. With regard to the ancillary developments to which the Deputy referred, there will be an additional cost of approximately £20 million. We could stay here until the cows come home outlining different figures but the current estimated cost of the stadium is approximately £300 million.
We could stay until the chickens come home to roost, rather than until the cows come home, because the chickens will come home to roost for the taxpayer. Is the Minister aware that in reply to Question No. 168 of 30 May, the Minister for Finance stated that the cost of relocating the Marine Institute and the State laboratories would be in the region of £90 million? That cost did not include the relocation cost of the farm. In view of this, who exactly is running the show? The Minister is on record in the media as saying the show is being driven by the Taoiseach's Department but the Taoiseach refuses to answer questions and passes them on to the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation who is burying his head in the sand and repeating the mantra of £280 million.
The Deputy should put a question to the Minister.
Will the Minister agree, for the sake of the taxpayers, to a moratorium being imposed on this lunatic project until such time as all aspects of the project have been examined by a Dáil committee?
As I have stated previously, matters that relate to decentralisation are the responsibility of the Department of Finance. All decentralisation incurs a cost, and Abbotstown will not be an exception. Some 500 acres of State-owned property have been designated for Stadium Ireland.
Rather than being a lunatic project, the stadium will stand as a potent symbol of where Irish people are at at the beginning of the new millennium. We may not benefit greatly from the stadium but future generations of Irish people will.
The Minister did not comment on the section of the report which dealt with the survey on the 15 other stadia to which I referred. Does the Minister agree it is ironic that we have now learned of an added cost of £90 million in relation to the development of Sports Campus Ireland which will involve the relocation of Abbotstown, etc? That figure is approaching twice the amount being contributed by the private donor. This project is eating up money.
On the 50 metre swimming pool which is to be ready in 2003 for the Special Olympics, will the Minister outline a timeframe within which planning permission will be sought for this project and can he give the House a categoric guarantee that the 50 metre pool will be ready in time for the Special Olympics? Obviously, we would all support him in regard to that project.
The Deputy referred to the 15 other stadia and pointed out that the costs would overrun. I pointed out that the top price for the other stadia currently being built is £300 million. Of course development and construction costs are increasing, but I would argue that whatever its cost a national stadium will be an asset to this country for generations to come and should be supported by all Members.
On the 50 metre swimming pool, I cannot give the Deputy a categoric answer as to whether it will be ready by 2003, having regard to planning permission, etc. We are certainly aiming to have the pool completed by 2003 and I want to assure the Deputy and those involved in the Special Olympics that if we encounter problems with planning permission, I have a plan B.
I presume plan B is to go down to Limerick where there will be a 50 metre pool. Does the Minister agree the difference between the 15 other stadia and our proposed stadium is that each of the 15 will have anchor tenants whereas the national stadium will not, unless the Eircom-FAI project is wrecked by other means or the Minister is aware of some other agenda? Does the Minister agree the proposed stadium will not have an anchor tenant and that it will be under-utilised and will not provide a return on the cost of between £500 million and £750 million? I am not exaggerating those figures because the Minister confirmed today that the minimum cost at this point will be between £400 million and £500 million.
I have always stated my belief that it would be in the international interest and in the interest of Irish soccer generally if the FAI was to come on board with us in Stadium Ireland. That offer stands.
The Minister should leave the FAI to do its own business.
Together, the FAI and the State could expedite the upgrading of our national soccer infrastructure. The upgrading of that infrastructure is paramount to getting people to return to soccer matches. Match attendance figures are the lifeblood of any association and we want to ensure families can return to soccer matches at affordable prices. There is something drastically wrong with Irish soccer. The National League final replay, for example, which was played in the middle of Monaghan, attracted 25,000 people whereas the FAI cup final replay in the middle of Dublin attracted only 6,000 people.
What has that to do with anything?
We must encourage people to return to soccer matches. If the FAI and the State worked together, we could improve our national infrastructure but, having said that, I acknowledge that the FAI is entitled to pursue a project with Eircom, and the Government will provide it with any assistance it requires.
