I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 19 and 35 together.
The Government has decided to engage independent consultants to undertake an overview of the cost of the proposed Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland project and to assist in determining final Exchequer allocations for the project and the sensitivity of such allocations to variations in the scale of each element of the project.
The first term of reference set by Government for the consultants, which my Department is in the process of engaging, will be to review the overall approach and contracting strategy adopted to date in securing the development of Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland and associated infrastructure, with regard to risk identification, management processes and structures, timing and overall cost effectiveness. The second term of reference is for the consultants to advise on the assessment of the contract awarding authority for the project, CSID, of the gross cost range and of the Exchequer funding requirements for each facility proposed for the Campus emerging from the outline bid phase due for completion on 21 June, the tendering process for which is now under way.
The third term of reference is to advise on CSID's assessment, at the end of the outline bid process, of operating costs and revenues likely to be associated with Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland, and the likely net impact on the Exchequer. The fourth term of reference is to assess the estimated costs of relocating existing facilities from the Abbotstown site arising directly from the decision to establish Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland there. The fifth term of reference is to assess the estimated costs of access infrastructure directly attributable to the development of Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland.
The sixth term of reference is to establish the extent and timing of the likely Exchequer liability associated with the above developments. The seventh term of reference is to ascertain the direct and indirect benefits from the developments outlined above, including the impact of physical development and access on the hinterland of Abbotstown and on the Dublin region and the positive impact of infrastructure development and make recommendations to me as appropriate in the context of the overall purpose of the overview.
The consultants will liaise with and be guided by a steering group of senior officials, drawn from my Department and the Departments of the Taoiseach, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Finance. They will be required to deliver a report not later than three months after the date of commissioning. In response to the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 11 May 2001 inviting expressions of interest to undertake the overview, 15 such expressions were received from consultants by the closing date of 22 May 2001. My Department, in consultation with the steering group, shortlisted eight qualified candidates who have been invited to tender. The closing date for submission of tenders is Friday, 8 June. As the Government decided this overview would be carried out in the manner I have outlined, the question of requesting the Comptroller and Auditor General to undertake the study does not arise.