Vol. 551 No. 2
453 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if his attention was drawn to the fact that consultants (details supplied) for the national aquatic centre at Abbotstown, Dublin 15, had raised queries regarding the status of the company which had been awarded the con tract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9088/02]
454 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has received the results of the inquiry being undertaken by the Attorney General into the selection of a dormant shelf company to run the national aquatic centre at Abbotstown, Dublin 15; the main findings of the report; if it is intended to lay the report before Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9087/02]
455 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the terms of reference of the inquiry being undertaken by the Attorney General into the selection of a dormant shelf company to run the national aquatic centre at Abbotstown, Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9086/02]
456 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the date on which responsibility for the Sports Campus Ireland project was transferred from the Department of the Taoiseach to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9085/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 453, 454, 455 and 456 together.
Responsibility for the Sports Campus Ireland project was transferred from the Department of the Taoiseach to my Department on 1 January 2001. My attention was not at any time drawn to the fact that queries had arisen regarding the status of one of the companies of the consortium that had been awarded the contract for the aquatic and leisure centre, until the issue was reported in the national press earlier this month.
As a result, the Government informally decided at its meeting of 7 March that following consultation with the Attorney General I would arrange for the preparation of an independent report on the matter for the next meeting of the Government. It was subsequently agreed on 10 March, by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Attorney General and I, that an essential input into this report would be an inquiry on issues surrounding the award of the operator's contract for the aquatic and leisure centre at Abbotstown, to be carried out under the auspices of the Attorney General, focusing on issues relating to the corporate governance of CSID in so far as it concerned the process of selecting the preferred bidder, and the processes and procedures adopted within CSID leading to and including the selection process. The draft report was brought to Government on 20 March 2002 and I will bring the completed report to Government today for its consideration, following which a statement will be made.
