Vol. 551 No. 2
447 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the amount of grant aid paid to the GAA for the redevelopment of Croke Park from 1997 to date; the dates that moneys were paid over; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9770/02]
Grants totalling €63.49 million have been sanctioned since 1997 to date, for the redevelopment of Croke Park, €25.4 million of which was allocated in the budget of 1998, €19.05 million of which was allocated in 2001 to ensure that Croke Park will be ready to host the Special Olympics World Games 2003 and a further €19.05 million recently sanctioned.
The payments to date covering the allocations are as follows: £7,000,000, €8,888,167, paid in December 1998; £7,000,000, €8,888,167, paid in September 1999; £5,000,000, €6,348,690, paid in March 2000; £1,000,000, €1.269,738, paid in December 2000; £7,500,000, €9,523,035, paid in September 2001; and €8,571,000, £675,000, paid in January 2002. The Deputy should note, in line with my Department's procedures for sports capital funding, 5% of the total payment of each grant allocation is retained pending the receipt of certification of completion of the defects liability period of the project. Accordingly, a final payment of €95,230 is still due for payment in relation to the certification required for the €19.05 million allocation made in 2001. Arrangements are currently being made for the payment of the most recently sanctioned grant of €19.05 million in accordance with the normal procedures for the payment of such grants.
