Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Oct 2002

Vol. 555 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Special Olympics.

Mr. S. Ryan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity to raise this important issue, namely, the implications for next year's Special Olympics of the decision taken by Fingal County Council on Monday last to close the gates of Morton Stadium on 31 December 2002 should outstanding issues not be resolved with the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation. Under an agreement entered into, the financing of the operations at Morton Stadium will be borne by the four local authorities in the greater Dublin area and the sports section of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation. To date, the Department has reneged on its obligations as part of that agreement and its current liability stood at £277,525 at the end of last year.

Athletes will be well aware that the then Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, announced, in a glare of publicity prior to local and European elections in 1999, that the Government intended to provide a national indoor athletic centre at Santry. For its part, Fingal County Council agreed to provide the site free of charge – a significant contribution. At the request of the Minister, Fingal County Council commissioned a feasibility study on the provision of this indoor facility. The result of this was examined and approved by the Department and the Irish Sports Council. In July 2000, the Minister announced a capital grant of £4.8 million toward the cost of the project. To date, the Department has failed to pay €1.44 million to Fingal County Council in respect of expenditure and commitments to date on the planning, design and tendering stages of the proposed national indoor athletic centre.

Should the Government decide not to proceed with this project, that is between it and the people. What is another broken promise anyway? However, the rate payers of Fingal should not have to carry this burden. If this outstanding funding had been paid to the council over the years, it is highly likely that up to eight community sports projects in my constituency, which have been put on hold through lack of funding, would have been grant-aided and up and running.

The 11th Special Olympics will be held in Ireland next year. Ireland will be the first country to host the Special Olympics outside the USA. It is estimated that the Special Olympics will attract up to 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches and official delegates and thousands of family members and friends of participants from 166 countries. This is a prestigious event and it is important that everything is put in place to give a céad míle fáilte to the athletes and to ensure a successful outcome. The athletics element of the games will commence in Santry on 24 June 2003.

It is proposed to upgrade existing facilities and ancillary services to successfully host the event in Santry, at an estimated cost in excess of €500,000. As a result of departmental indifference, it seems that Fingal County Council will be asked to carry this additional cost, which means that over €2 million will be owed to the council. The council has decided that it will be unable to carry such a burden. Morton Stadium in Santry is a national stadium and should be financed primarily by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, although the local authority is also willing to play its part. Notwithstanding these difficulties, Fingal County Council is looking forward to playing its part in hosting a successful games, alongside thousands of volunteers and host families throughout the country.

I implore the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Taoiseach to acknowledge their responsibilities and to meet their financial obligations to the council. In this regard, I suggest that an early meeting be organised between both parties. I look forward to a fruitful outcome to such a meeting so that the aims of the Special Olympics, as outlined in the games' mission statement, can be met. The mission is to "provide in Ireland a unique and unparalleled sporting and cultural experience for the athletes taking part, from 160 international delegations all over the world, as well as for their coaches, families, volunteers and sponsors, combining the excitement of sport with the opportunity for personal distinction, achievement and pride". I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to ensure that no obstacles are placed in the way of achieving this objective. We must work together to ensure that next year's games are a fantastic and successful experience and the Government must do its part by fulfilling its financial obligations.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. T. O'Malley)

I thank Deputy Seán Ryan for raising this matter on the Adjournment and for giving me the opportunity to address the issues involved on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and his Department are fully aware and appreciative of the crucial and unique role played by Morton Stadium as the primary venue for athletic events in Ireland over many decades. The stadium is recognised as the Irish national athletics stadium and the individuals and organisations who have contributed to developing and running it over the years deserve to be commended. In particular, the local authority now known as Fingal County Council should be mentioned for its outstanding support for, and commitment to, the stadium and its activities in recent years.

Hosting the Special Olympics World Summer Games in June 2003 offers Ireland the opportunity to showcase itself to the world as the host of many inspirational athletes who will participate. This is the first time the games have been held outside the United States and it will be the largest international sporting event in our island's history. It will truly be a world-class event; there will be delegations from 165 countries, participat ing in 22 different sports at various venues in the greater Dublin area. Some 7,000 athletes, 30,000 volunteers, as well as coaches, officials, families and friends will be involved in the games. The events will be covered by 2,000 international media personnel. The project has generated massive goodwill and commitment across the spectrum of national life. Staging the event is expected to cost about €34 million. The Government has committed €10.2 million to the project through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the EU has committed over €6 million and sponsorship has raised over €14 million so far.

I am pleased that Ireland has taken the opportunity to participate in this way in the games, which will provide a lasting legacy for those with disabilities. The games will broaden our sporting experience and our understanding of difference. Great tribute is due to all those who have given unstintingly and who will undoubtedly be called upon to make a significant effort to bring off a successful venture. Those involved with Morton Stadium are among a long list of people whose worthwhile efforts will bring credit to the country and great joy to the participants of the games.

The suitability of the Morton Stadium as a venue to host the athletics events of the summer games next year has been raised by Deputy Ryan. As he is aware, the current facilities at Morton Stadium, which include a state-of-the-art modern track and ancillary facilities, were provided by previous Governments over many years, at a cost in excess of £2 million. I can inform the House that the Special Olympic Games committee has confirmed that Morton Stadium "is suitable to run the track and field competition for the games as it stands right now". I suggest that this statement from the games committee speaks for itself.

Fingal County Council was asked by the former Minister, Deputy McDaid, to prepare an application for an indoor athletics track under the 2000 sports capital programme. In January 2001, Fingal County Council opened a public tender process for this development and for the provision of a headquarters for the Athletics Association of Ireland. The outcome of the tendering process, however, was that the cost of the project almost doubled to €15.5 million from €9.56 million. The promised grant of €6 million was no longer adequate to make the project feasible. A number of options for reducing the overall cost of the project were considered by Fingal County Council but such an approach would have reduced the standard and quality of the project considerably. It would not have been appropriate to provide a second class facility that would not meet European and world standards. The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is considering how the project can be progressed. In any event, it was felt that the start of the project should be delayed until after the Special Olympics because of safety considerations and the possible risk to athletes if work was ongoing when the games were in progress.

I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, is committed to the provision of sports facilities at all levels and to continuing the excellent work of the last five years in this regard. It may be of interest to the Deputy to know that sports funding has increased from £13.25 million in 1997 to over €161.4 million this year. I mention this fact to illustrate the degree of the Government's commitment to sport. The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has been in contact with Fingal County Council in relation to the running costs of Morton Stadium. The Minister intends that the Department and the county council will, through these discussions, reach an accommodation to enable Fingal County Council to manage the costs. He is anxious to satisfactorily resolve these issues and with that in mind, he has asked that an early meeting be arranged between officials of his Department and Fingal County Council, with a view to progressing these matters to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Mr. S. Ryan

I thank the Minister of State.