Vol. 557 No. 5
54 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the companies or consortia which have expressed interest to date in the development of a new national stadium; the contact his Department has had with the said interested parties; if he has begun an assessment of these expressions of interest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22475/02]
I refer the Deputy to my reply to Priority Question No. 49 on this subject. It would not be in the best interest of the process to publish the names of the parties which responded to the request for expressions of interest while the assessment process is ongoing, but subject to the agreement of the individual consortia, I am agreeable to doing so on completion of the process.
Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the 23 expressions of interest in terms of whether they involve national or international companies? Where stands the €63 million gift from J. P. McManus? Is it dead in the water or can it still be activated if a public private partnership develops a stadium? Are the two main sporting bodies, the FAI and the IRFU, still fully committed to the project? There was a rumour in a newspaper that one of the associations was not as keen or committed in proceeding with the project as it had been.
There has not been a major international expression of interest in the construction of a national stadium, although there has been some. In addition, the FAI and the IRFU are still extremely anxious that a stadium would be provided. Some of those who expressed an interest have been in contact with both bodies while the majority have not.
With regard to the funding that was generously offered by Mr. J. P. McManus, he has not indicated officially as yet that the funding has been withdrawn. My understanding of his offer, however, is that it was predicated on a national stadium being built with Exchequer funds.
Hurling could be played in it.
On the other hand, I cannot categorically say whether the funding will be available. I have received no indication from Mr. McManus that he has withdrawn it. Deputy Deenihan wonders whether hurling will be played in the national stadium.
That is a condition laid down by Mr. McManus.
Mr. McManus's interest in hurling is best illustrated by the fact that he called two of his best horses, Grimes and Hartigan.
With regard to the expressions of interest, was there a preference for Abbotstown or a city centre location? The Government, particularly the Minister, and the Department should exhaust all possibilities of undertaking a major revamp of the Lansdowne Road stadium before they embark on another long process examining different sites and proposals. I ask the Minister to examine all possibilities to upgrade Lansdowne Road with the IRFU and the FAI, including the proposal to turn the stadium 90º. Dublin Corporation, Dublin Tourism and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce are all very supportive of that proposal. Could such proposals be examined while the expressions of interest are also examined before the Minister makes a decision?
Lansdowne Road has not been excluded from the equation. However, the refurbishment of the stadium would not come cheap. Providing the necessary facilities, for example, to enable the European Championships to be played there in 2008 would require expenditure in excess of €100 million. We have received expressions of interest from 23 different parties with a view to building a stadium and they are being assessed. It is hoped to decide whether we will proceed to tender in the near future.
