Jim O'Keeffe
Question:76 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position in relation to sports funding for the GAA for Croke Park and otherwise. [22513/02]
Written Answers. - Sports Funding.
Emmet Stagg
Question:82 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the discussions he had with the GAA on 23 October 2002 in relation to Exchequer funding for Croke Park; if he has received an application from the GAA for funding for Croke Park since this meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22480/02]
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:165 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the details of the meeting with the GAA on 23 October 2002 regarding the commitment made in April 2001 to provide £60 million to that organisation to complete Croke Park; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19913/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 82 and 165 together.
Under the national lottery funded sports capital programme, which is administered by my Department, funding is allocated to sporting and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country towards the provision of sport and recreational facilities. Under that programme, grants totalling €68.3 million have been allocated to Gaelic games projects in the period 1998-2002. In addition, the Irish Sports Council, as the statutory body with responsibility,inter alia, for the promotion and development of sport, also provides grant aid to the GAA on an annual basis for the development of its sports through various schemes. A total of €2.9 million has been paid to date over the period 1998-2002 in funding under such schemes.
Grant aid amounting to €69.836 million has been allocated by Government for the redevelopment of Croke Park, consisting of €6.349 million allocated in the 1994 budget; €25.4 million allocated in the 1998 budget and paid out over the following three years; €19.05 million allocated in 2001 in connection with the use of the stadium for the hosting of the Special Olympics World Games 2003 and €19.05 million allocated in March 2002. 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, final payments of €952,304 are still due for payment in relation to the certification required for the €19.05 million allocations made in both 2001 and 2002. These will be paid when the required certificates have been received and approved by my Department.
A letter of April 2001 to the GAA set out proposals for future Government financial contributions to the organisation in the context of planned use by the GAA of the facilities to be provided at Stadium and Sports Campus Ireland. It was envisaged at the time that these arrangements would be enshrined in a formal agreement between the organisation and the Government at a later stage in the process. In the light of a Government decision in September of this year not to provide Exchequer funding for the national stadium, the funding proposals outlined in 2001 had to be revisited. To that end, a meeting was held on 23 October involving the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and myself on the one hand and representatives of the GAA on the other to discuss outstanding issues, including financial support. At this meeting, the GAA was advised that it should submit a new application for any further funding towards the redevelopment of Croke Park.